


Project SVT

by aestia



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Almost smut, Alternate Universe, China Line is done dirty as always, Dreaming, Flowers, Gen, How Do I Tag, Language of Flowers, Magic, Mentioned GFriend Ensemble, Mentioned PRISTIN Ensemble, Mild Language, Wonwoo is a Little Shit, i swear i love them, there's barely any romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2020-06-24 21:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 56,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19731916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestia/pseuds/aestia
Summary: Thirteen boys, having been kept hidden away from the world for 20 years, are set out into the world. But when certain things strain their relationship, one takes it upon himself to keep them together.~~~As much as he wants to tell the older to shove a fist up his ass, he can't even keep his eyes open anymore. The world is swallowed in darkness, and he only knows that he failed."Good night. Sweet dreams~"





	1. 1. Mingyu

Since they were young, they were kept in a controlled environment. The guards called them ‘Project SVT’ even though there were thirteen of them. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo raised them like they were their children, and for them, who had only known black and white, they brought color. Of course, the group longed for the outside world, but with those three around to care for them, their lives were good. 

When Kim Mingyu was 5 months old, he was brought to the Room. That’s what they called it, but the guards called it Lab 17. That’s where he met everyone else. Jeonghan and Jisoo were inseparable at first, and Jihoon and Seokmin were antisocial and closed off. They were able to work through that. Seungcheol, number 1, was basically their substitute for a father. Jeonghan, number 2, was the mom of the group. 

When he was 9, the guards started to let them outside of the Room. They had five minutes in an enclosed area to get to know the sky, the fresh air, the earth, plants, and sometimes even an animal. Mingyu turned 16, and they left the project out in a larger enclosed area for about two hours. The staff brought in visitors from all over the country. Their freedom slowly increased, and by the time he was 20, they weren’t stuck in the Room anymore. It all started one day in late March.

~~~

“Chan, put that down right now or so help me,” Jeonghan yells as Chan continues to press buttons on a strange device that he had taken off of a guard’s belt loop. A guard that Mingyu is friends with said that they were communicators, but he isn't about to tell Chan that. Who knows what he’d do. They would get in even more trouble.

“Chan, listen to Jeonghan or he’ll get even more mad.” Seungcheol says from across the room, not looking away from his phone.

“But Seungcheol hyung, I’m bored.” Chan whines. Chan is their youngest and he’s 19, having had his birthday in February.

“If you’re bored, go play with Booseoksoon.” Apart from being stuck together like glue, Booseoksoon were the project’s moodmakers and just Seungkwan on his own was louder than the rest of them. Those three make Mingyu wonder how much lung capacity and volume a human can physically fit into his body. 

“Where are they?” Chan asks.

“In town.” Jisoo walks into the room with Wonwoo at his side. “Seungcheol, Jeonghan,  _ they  _ want to see you.” Their ‘parents’ all share a look laced with fear before Seungcheol and Jeonghan leave.

“Come on, Chan, I’ll take you to town. Mingyu, come with. You too, Wonwoo hyung.” Minghao stands up from his bed.

Wonwoo shakes his head and collapses on the couch. “No thanks. I’ve had my share of activity for today. I was just out with Jisoo hyung.”

“We weren’t even out for a full hour.” Jisoo retorts, to which Wonwoo only replies with a groan. His face is already buried in the couch cushions. Mingyu closes his book, grabs his jacket, and catches up to Minghao and Chan, who are already at the exit of the Room.

“What’s your reason for coming, Minghao?” Mingyu asks as they walk to the building exit. 

He sighs. “Jun hyung forgot his phone and wallet. I’m just bringing it to him.” Minghao gestures to his bag, which Mingyu assumes has Jun’s stuff in it. Those two have been closer than brothers ever since they met, maybe because they’re originally from the same country. 

“How do you know he didn’t leave it on purpose?” Chan opens the door for his elders and then takes a few large steps to catch back up. “What if he didn’t need it?”

“Why would he not need his phone? Besides, he’s not the type to do that. It’s not like he’s airheaded, but he’s forgetful nonetheless. Sometimes I wonder if he’s really older than most of us.” Minghao sighs again.

“That’s true. In terms of maturity, you’d be older than everyone except Jeonghan hyung.” Mingyu muses. On the rest of the way to town, they talk about other irrelevant things, mostly about where everyone would rank in terms of amount of brain cells.

They near the town after about 10 minutes, probably less. All houses were out of town, so there were only stores and restaurants. When they pass the first row stores, Chan turns to Minghao. He stares hard until Minghao stops walking. “Yes?”

“You have Jun hyung’s phone, right?” Minghao nods. “So, how are you going to ask him where he is?” Chan asks.

Biting his lip, Minghao stares off into space for a second before answering. “Well, I’ll figure it out. Maybe Soonyoung hyung knows where he is. I’ll just ask that trio of nightmares.” He pulls out his phone to text any one of Booseoksoon. 

“Do you know what store they’re in?” Mingyu asks.

“Let me ask them.” Minghao begins typing, and gets a reply just mere moments later. “Seokmin said they’re at the dollar store on 14th, but Jun hyung is at the grocery store on 21st.”

“Then I’ll take Chan and head to Soonyoung hyung. You go to Jun hyung.” Mingyu tells Minghao.

“Roger that yessir.” Minghao uses Soonyoung’s catchphrase, then takes off.

Chan takes the communicator out of his pocket and waves it in front of Mingyu’s face. “I know that you know what this is, Mingyu hyung. Tell me.”

“I don’t know what it is.” Mingyu says with the straightest face that he can muster, since he’s surprised that Chan figured it out.

“You’re good at cooking, academics, and sports because you taught how to do it. But they never taught you how to lie. You suck at it.” Chan smirks. “Anyway, what is it? It’s been buzzing all this time. Is it some sort of communication device?” Looking at Mingyu’s expression, he gets the answer. 

“Don’t do anything stupid, Chan. Who knows how much trouble we’d get in.” Mingyu warns him. The road signs pass as they walk, leading them to 14th Street. 

“I won’t, you don’t have to worry. I’m just going to monitor their conversations without speaking. I can be quiet. Quieter than those three at least.” They hear laughter and yelling coming from inside the store, Seokmin’s voice above everything, since he’s like a loudspeaker. 

The two enter the store where the cashier is standing behind the counter looking like she regrets ever being born. Mingyu bows to her while Chan leaves to go get Booseoksoon.

“Sorry for the disturbance, miss.”

She grit her teeth. “As long as they’re leaving now. They’ve been here all morning.”

“We’ll take them. Sorry again.” He bows again, and Chan comes out of an aisle with the nightmares in tow.

“They want to go to the park.” He says, sounding tired and exhausted already.

“Alright.” For the third time, Mingyu does a 90 degree bow to the clerk, then they leave. Soonyoung and Seokmin bounce along to the park, while Seungkwan walks alongside Chan and him. 

The town was set up like a house with a private courtyard. The roads all branched off of the park, which was the center of town. There were park entrances at the end of each street, and a large lake was in the middle of the park. The playground itself was almost as big as Lab 17. 

Seungkwan, Seokmin, Soonyoung, and Chan dash to the playground, yelling something about the swings. Mingyu sits down on a bench, and then a fat pigeon walks to his ankle, looking for food.

“Sorry, I don’t have anything.” He says, rubbing its head as it coos. 

“Bird!” Startled, the pigeon flies away at the sudden voice calling out to it.

“You can’t catch it, Jun hyung, you know that.” Minghao sighs, walking up to Mingyu with Jun latched onto his arm. “Hi, Mingyu.”

“I know that. It’s not like I’m stupid.” Jun rolls his eyes and smirks. “It was just for fun. Besides, what would I do if I did catch it. There isn’t any meat on the damn things anyway.” And this is perfectly normal. Jun’s main objective in life is to obtain food, and all wild animals are in danger of being caught and eaten. He has no reservations at all, and it’s hilarious sometimes.

Not bothering to watch over Booseoksoon and Chan, Mingyu looks at Jun as he follows some ducks to a creek. Minghao trails behind to keep an eye on the older, who is now squatting on a boulder, watching the animals in a trance. 

“Careful, Jun hyung, it’s not safe there.” Minghao calls. Jun turns around and his feet slip in the process. He lands on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. On instinct, Minghao jumps onto the rock to check on Jun. 

“You’re an idiot, you know?” He says as he lifts Jun up. 

Jun gasps to get his breath back. When he can finally speak again, he replies with, “Yeah, it’d be hard to not know. Sorry about that.”

“Just,” Minghao fills his upper lip with air and creases his eyebrows, “don’t do it again.” In a way, those two have the most wholesome relationship out of everyone in the project. Minghao is always worrying and caring about Jun like a mom, and Jun is the one who makes Minghao go out and meet people. Jun is a carefree and simple person who was always making friends with new people, and Minghao is a cautious introvert by nature. They really balance each other out. 

“Mingyu, look!” Then there’s Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Soonyoung, who are cute but stupid. Mingyu instantly regrets leaving them alone as he walks to the swings. 

“Uh…. What is this?”

“Sorry, Mingyu hyung, I tried to stop them, I really did.” Chan calls apathetically as he continues to climb the rock wall.

“Aren’t you impressed, Mingyu? Aren’t we superior?” Soonyoung yells.

“That’s one way to say it.” Mingyu says skeptically.

The trio is standing on top of the bar that held swings, in the formation of a triangle, Seungkwan at the top, and Seokmin and Soonyoung as the base. Their arms shake, clearly struggling under Seungkwan’s weight.

“How do you have enough balance for that? How the hell did you even get up there?” Mingyu asks in disbelief. “Actually, that’s not important. Just get down from there right now, or else Seungcheol hyung will get mad at me for letting you guys get hurt.”

Seokmin smiles nervously. “You see, that might be a problem. We don’t know how to get Seungkwan down.”

Mingyu sighs, irritated. “How did you get him up there in the first place? Just do that, but reversed.”

“Easier said than done, captain. It’s hard enough to just keep our balance.” Soonyoung replies.

“I think I can just fall from here. It’s only about 12 feet, right?” Seungkwan asks, looking and gauging his distance from the ground.

“Uh, that’s even more dangerous. Is it possible to put him down slowly?” Mingyu asks Soonyoung and Seokmin. 

“What if we just catch him?” Minghao walks to them with Jun waddling behind.

“He’d crush you, you glass flower.” Chan pipes in from the top of the rock climbing wall.

“Respect your elders, Chan.” Minghao retorts. “Wonwoo hyung is more delicate than me in any case.”

“True, true, but that has nothing to do with the fact that if you tried to catch Seungkwan from that height, you’d probably die.” Chan states.

“You might not have a choice in the matter. I’m gonna fall soon…” Seungkwan says shakily as the nightmare trio begins to shake more and more.

“Ack! Hold on a second!” Mingyu grabs Minghao and Jun and positions them behind so that Seungkwan can fall safely.

Seokmin’s heel slips, and with it his leg, causing the base of the formation to become lopsided. Seungkwan, in the chaos, tries to grab onto the bar to slow his descent. It works a bit, but he still lands on all three of them at the bottom. They fall to the ground in a heap. Seokmin’s leg causes him to fall so that his crotch slams onto the bar. Soonyoung soon falls after that to his right. Thankfully, Soonyoung has really quick reflexes and strong legs, strong enough to latch onto the bar before he falls on the ground and splits his skull in half. He fixes his position and then lets himself drop to the ground. 

“Crap, are you guys okay?” Soonyoung asks worriedly as he peels Minghao and Seungkwan from the ground. 

“Guess.” Mingyu growls, pulling Jun up from the mulch that covers the ground of the playground. He brushes some of it off the back of Jun’s shirt, then gets up. 

“Sorry.” Soonyoung smiles sheepishly. Seokmin, although still in pain, has recovered enough to let himself drop to the ground. He groans miserably. 

“Not one of our best ideas.” Seokmin breathes heavily. 

“You think?” Minghao says sarcastically as he brushes off the mulch and dirt on his clothes. “That was by far your worst.”

“Seokmin, get up. I’m not carrying you back to the lab. It looks like it’s about to rain.” Mingyu says, pulling Seokmin to his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	2. 2. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Jeonghan and Seungcheol are out, Joshua has to take care of things at home.

That day, Jisoo had gone out with Wonwoo in the morning. They ate breakfast in town because they were sick of the chaos in the room. After a long walk of fooling around, they finally reach home, and when the two enter the building, a guard stops them.

“Tell 1 and 2 that the staff wants to see them. It’s urgent, so tell them as soon as you can. And they have to come as a pair, not just one at a time.” Jisoo slowly nods, and the guard leaves.

“What do you think that’s about?” Wonwoo asks as they open the door to the hallway that leads to their room.

“Beats me. But for them to approach us instead of telling Seungcheol and Jeonghan themselves,” Jisoo shivers. “It gives me a scary and ominous vibe.”

“Really? I think it’s good. I don’t know why, but that guard sounded excited. Maybe we’re getting another dream warlock visitor.” Wonwoo says, his eyes twinkling with anticipation.

“I don’t think so. They wouldn’t tell us if they were coming, plus we already had our visitor for the month.” Jisoo states, causing the 21 year old behind him to wilt. “You certainly love those dream guys, don’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s so interesting. If you create a dream, you can control all the forces of nature and you’d be like a god once you get in it.” The sparkle comes back to Wonwoo’s eyes, and Jisoo becomes nervous about choosing his next words. 

He settles on “Is it really okay to be a god? Even if it’s in a false reality? We’re born mortal because we’re meant to not have that much power.”

“Well,” Wonwoo thinks for a bit. “If he didn’t want us to become like this, then why did he give us magic and knowledge in the first place?”

“I… don’t know.” Jisoo replies, since Wonwoo has a point. But for some reason, he still feels like magic in general is wrong.

Wonwoo exclaims. “This is a heavy subject! Let’s talk about something else.”

“Uh… What do we talk about?”

“Beats me.” Wonwoo admonishes as Jisoo opens the door to Lab 17, and they hear Seungcheol telling Chan to go play with Booseoksoon, then Chan asks where they were.

“In town.” Jisoo answers and then turns to Seungcheol and Jeonghan. “ _ They _ want to see you two.” They get up, and he shares a look of fear with them before they leave. 

Minghao gets up from his bed. “Come on, 13, I’ll take you to town. Mingyu, come with. You too, Wonwoo hyung.” 

Wonwoo, a notorious shut-in and professional introvert, shakes his head and falls on the couch. “No thanks. I’ve had my share of activity for today. I was just out with 3.”

“We weren’t even out for a full hour.” Jisoo rolls his eyes, but Wonwoo is already buried in the couch. He groans as Mingyu, Chan, and Minghao leave for town.

“Hansol, where’s Jun?” Jisoo asks the 20-year-old that’s in the kitchen.

“I think he went grocery shopping?” Hansol’s voice raises in a question, as if he isn’t sure. “Jihoon hyung’s went to the gym though.” He says, shutting the refrigerator with a bottle of cola in his hand.

“Got it.” Jisoo goes to an empty armchair and turns on the television. It’s on the global news, and while Jisoo’s attention is turned to the TV, he doesn’t realize that Hansol is trying to open the cola bottle with a spoon. Hansol almost breaks the spoon in the attempt to pry the lid off. Wonwoo does notice though, and he looks mildly disgusted at his dongsaeng’s behavior. 

“Dear lord, you idiot, use the bottle opener, we have it for a reason.” Wonwoo scolds the second youngest and then gets up to get the said utensil.

Hansol pushes the spoon one last time, and the cap pops off. “Have you noticed that Seungkwan only talks to Seokmin hyung and Soonyoung hyung recently?”

“I mean, he still talks to you, but yeah, I guess you have a point.” 

Hansol sighs. “It’s just weird. You know how loud he usually is. Something’s bothering him.” He looks at Jisoo, his eyes filled with concern.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’ll go back to his old self. Besides, if there is something on his mind, then he’d tell you. You’re his best friend.” Jisoo tries to reassure Hansol, but he isn’t sure if he succeeded because Hansol just bit his lip in response. Jisoo supposes he can understand. A while back, Jeonghan went through a phase like that too. He got out of it though, and Jisoo is sure that Seungkwan would get out of whatever is going on.

“I just realized,” Wonwoo comes in with the bottle opener, “all the ‘panicked’ gays are here. I mean, that’s how Soonyoung described us.” He notices Hansol already opened the bottle and throws it back into the kitchen, not caring enough to put it back neatly. It clatters on the kitchen tile. 

“That’s true. Would that make Jeonghan hyung, Mingyu hyung, and Seungkwan the ‘confident’ gays in the relationship?” Hansol asks.

“Well, everyone acts like those three, so wouldn’t we all be ‘confident gays’?” Jisoo wonders.

“It’s just cause we’ve been together practically since birth.” Wonwoo says as he leans back on the couch. “Everyone is just really close.” 

Clicking his tongue, Jisoo sighs. “Too bad that’s what Jeonghan thinks when I show my feelings. That we’re just close friends.”

“Isn’t that what they all think?” Hansol says sadly.

“Can’t relate. Mingyu is almost as, if not more, gay as me. You poor souls.” Wonwoo remarks with overflowing superiority, and Hansol rolls his eyes in annoyance.

“Oh, come on,” Jisoo interjects, “You’re only in love with Seungkwan because he’s one of the only people you know. Once you meet other people, Seungkwan will just go back to being you best friend.”

“If he ever starts talking to me again, sure. But will that ever happen?” Hansol seems as if he already knew the answer.

Wonwoo snorts. “You have to stop thinking so negatively. We’ve always been together, and I’m sure it’ll stay that way. If something ever threatens that, I don’t know what I’d do. To live in a world, real or fake, without you guys is what my hell is.” He finishes seriously with a solemn face.

The atmosphere becomes heavy suddenly after Wonwoo stops talking. Wonwoo, realizing that he was the cause of the droop, twiddles with his fingers while Hansol looks at an invisible spot on his leg. The reporter on the screen continues to drone on about the war. Jisoo stares uncomfortably at the wall for who knows how long, listening faintly to the background noise of reporters, news anchors, and their breathing, almost completely in sync.  _ Take away the atmosphere and it’d be really peaceful _ , he thinks. 

He doesn’t know how much time passes before Jihoon breaks the silence by slamming the door open, sweeping his hair back. He’s dripping with sweat and rain.

“Where… are… Seungcheol hyung… and Mingyu?” He pants.

Wonwoo jumps up to get Jihoon a towel, and Hansol helps his elder to the sofa. Jisoo replies, “Seungcheol and Jeonghan are with  _ them _ , and Mingyu went with Minghao and Chan to town. Why?”

As Wonwoo wraps him in a towel, Jihoon lays down on the couch. “Those fools forgot to sign up for next month’s membership. I had to do it myself. I didn’t know half of the information they needed. And by the time I finished signing up, it was pouring. This jerk pushed me and I fell into a puddle. It has not been a good day, not at all.” Jihoon vents all his anger with the most furious look Jisoo has ever seen in his life. But even though Jihoon’s face is red with fury, he’s still shivering like he just came from the South Pole. In this highly appropriate time (note the sarcasm), Jisoo finds himself thinking about what Jihoon would look like as a penguin. The side of his head is hit by Hansol who notices the fantastical look on his elder’s face.

A second time, the door crashes against the wall, revealing Mingyu, Chan, Minghao, Jun, and Booseoksoon, all soaked to the bone and breathing heavily. Wonwoo and Hansol leave to get more towels, and Jisoo brings Chan to the bathroom to wash off the mud that is quickly drying on his clothes and himself.

“Strip, take a shower. Don’t take too long, there are seven other people trying not to get hypothermia.” Jisoo tells him. The youngest nods and takes off his clothes. After he wrings them out in the shower, Jisoo takes them and goes to the main room. “Alright, all of you need to change into dry clothes. Dry off before you put on the new ones.” Everyone looks dumbfounded at him for a moment. “Now, please.” The new, soaking arrivals immediately leave for their individual rooms. He faces Hansol and Wonwoo. “What?” He asks upon seeing their confused faces.

“You’re acting like Jeonghan hyung. You haven’t really acted motherly in a while. Everyone was just shocked, that’s all.” Hansol replies.

“What? I act motherly.” He defends himself.

“No, you act like a child, not like a mom.” Wonwoo says.

Jisoo points a finger with fake anger. “Hey, I may not be a mom, but I’m still older than you. Respect your elders.”

“Or I could not.” Wonwoo retorts, purposely sounding like a brat. “What can you do about it?”

Jisoo sighs, knowing that trying to say anything else would be a waste of energy. “Whatever. Just help me wipe off the floor. I don’t wanna be nagged by Jeonghan when he comes back.” He commands. They get fresh rags and wipe the rainwater from the ground. 

“Come to think of it, it’s been a little but since they left. I wonder what’s taking so long. When they usually call one of us, it doesn’t take that long.” Hansol notes. “But they’ve been gone for almost half an hour.”

“Maybe it’s more important than the other times.” Jisoo says, squeezing the rag in the sink. The water flows down the drain, and he turns back to the main room to continue cleaning. 

“The guard did say that it was urgent and that they had to come in a pair. It must be something much more important than before.” Wonwoo adds.

“What could be so important that they need the both of them, and for so long?” Hansol wonders, to which both Jisoo and Wonwoo shrug.

Wandering out of the bathroom with a towel in his hair, Chan throws his body over the back of the couch and rolls onto it lazily. “Jisoo hyung,” He says whiningly, “I’m hungry.”

“Eat the mud off of your shoes.” Jisoo sarcastically tells him in response. “They need to be cleaned.”

“No.” Chan says instantly, and Jisoo stops cleaning so that he can ruffle Chan’s light brown hair, the younger batting at Jisoo’s hands in protest. Then Minghao comes out of his shared room with Hansol and Jeonghan, wet clothes in hand. 

“Hyung, where do you want us to put our clothes?” Minghao asks.

“For now, uh,” Jisoo thinks about where the clothes can go while they’re soaking as he looks at the dripping mess in Minghao’s hand. “Uh, did you wring them out yet? If not, go do that on the porch at the entrance. Then bring them to the laundry room, put the soap in the machine, and just leave the clothes in there. Don’t start it yet.” He orders and Minghao nods, then leaves for the front. In a moment of maternal instinct, Jisoo almost tells the younger to take a buddy to be safe, but he keeps his mouth shut.

“Jisoo hyung, we can take it from here. Just go make food.” Hansol says as he dries Chan’s wet hair, the younger completely at peace as his hyung massages his head with the towel.

“Alright, what do you want to eat?” Heading to the kitchen, Jisoo rolls his sleeves up.

“Meat. Any kind.” Chan and Wonwoo reply in sync.

“Okay, okay.” Jisoo opens the fridge and pulls out some chicken drumsticks that Jeonghan had been saving. Luckily, Mingyu had premade the frying batter, so all he had to do was coat them and fry it. Simple enough. There was rice that Jihoon made this morning, and Jisoo starts steaming some carrots so Jeonghan doesn’t yell at them for their lack of vegetables. It’s an odd combination, but as long as Jeonghan’s mouth stays shut about nutrition, then he’ll make the kids deal with it. The popping noises of the fryer are super calming, and Jisoo soon finds himself at peace, left to his own thoughts and fantasies. 

Until the kids all finish showering.

At first, he can’t hear them. Then after Seokmin comes out, the volume increases considerably and he can hear it from even the kitchen. Jun, a more behaved one unless he’s with Minghao, comes in after Soonyoung finishes his shower.

He eventually finishes cooking the chicken and vegetables. Jun gets out some bowls and put the carrots in them. The fried chicken Jisoo puts on a plate, and the two take the food out to the kids.

About 15 minutes after they finish eating, Jeonghan and Seungcheol enter with serious faces. Jeonghan calls all of them together.

“Kids,” Jeonghan starts, “we have something to tell you, and I don’t know if you’ll like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3  
> Things will start to pick up soon, I swear~


	3. 3. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan and Seungcheol have a very important announcement from the staff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so I totally forgot to clarify this in earlier chapters, but Project SVT is a project that helps make medicine by experimenting with the boys and their feelings. (ex. anxiety medicine, sleeping pills)

When Jeonghan and Seungcheol enter the dorm after being gone for almost an hour, Wonwoo is instantly curious to what they had been told. Jeonghan gathers them all in the main room, saying that he has news. Before Jeonghan starts, he casts a worried glance toward Jisoo. Jisoo gives him an encouraging nod, and he begins.

“We were with the staff just now. They told us something important.” He takes a deep breath. “You guys, do you like our life right now?”

“Oh, god, Jeonghan, don’t drag it out. Just tell them.” Seungcheol gently says, and Jeonghan squirms uncomfortably.

“Okay.” One, two, three, minutes pass before he speaks. “We are being left to fend for ourselves.”

Finally, Jeonghan says it. Chaos erupts before Seungcheol intervenes. “Everyone, quiet!” They settle down and Mingyu clutches Wonwoo’s hand. A million thoughts race through his head, and he begins to feel dizzy. The only reason he stays awake is because he wants to know what in the world is happening. 

“What does that mean?” Soonyoung tries to speak calmly, but his voice shakes like there is an earthquake. 

“The, uh, company lost its government funding. They’re setting us loose because they can’t afford to keep 13 of us and pay all of the staff. Not to mention that they have a second group, Project PT. They don’t have enough money to do all of that, so we’re being let go.” Seungcheol explains. 

“Who’s Project PT?” asks Hansol.

“A female project with ten girls.” Jeonghan replies. “We don’t see them because they live in a different part of the facility.”

“Where are we going to live? We don’t have a lot of money.” Minghao wonders, and Wonwoo notices that Minghao has moved closer to Jun’s side. 

“They got us a house and two months in it. Same with the PT girls. But after that, we’re on our own. Also, they said that they’ve asked the government to help with money because we helped make so much with all the medicine and experiments. Money may not be a problem, but nothing is for sure yet.” Jeonghan gathers Chan into his lap and cuddles the youngest so that Jeonghan’s head rests on Chan’s shoulder. 

“This feels like a Q&A session.” Wonwoo remarks in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere that has become significantly more serious than before.

“As it should.” Seungcheol responds. “You guys deserve to know everything we know.”

“Next question, sir!” Seokmin jokes, raising his hand as if it was a press conference in an another attempt to lighten the mood. It fails miserably. “If the government thing doesn’t work out, how do we make money?”

“I’m sure that there are jobs in town that don’t require an education. We can work there to make some money. Soonyoung can go dance on the street if he wants, but that’s just an option. I’m pretty sure Minghao and Mingyu could make some money off of their art.” replies Jeonghan.

“Can I make anything dancing?” Soonyoung looks at Jeonghan with wide eyes.

“Of course. People do it all the time, plus you’re better than all of them.” Seungcheol says, and Soonyoung beams at him, happy to be praised.

“Are we staying in a house in this town?” Mingyu asks, to which Jeonghan nods in response.

“We’re not going to school, right?” Wonwoo follows.

Jeonghan thinks for a moment before replying. “No, I think we’re a bit too old for that. We have basic knowledge already, so that’ll have to do.”

“Will we have basic necessities in the new house?” Seungkwan leans forward in order to get close in the circle.

“We’ll have water and electricity for two months, but for things like food, toiletries, and clothes, we’ll be on our own.” Because Jeonghan doesn’t seem to know the answer, Seungcheol answers for him. 

“When are we leaving?” Jisoo asks.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan lock eyes. “As soon as possible. We technically have, uh, how long?” Jeonghan looks at Seungcheol.

“Ten days.” Seungcheol says.

And Wonwoo can see everyone’s eyes darken, even though he’s usually quite oblivious to small changes like this. Whether it’s from aggravation or determination, he doesn’t know, but the room becomes tense. Mingyu’s grip on his hand tightens as the younger grits his teeth. 

“Well then,” Mingyu starts, “guess we have to get going, don’t we?”

~~~

Fast forward five days, and they’re all packed for the trip to their new house. They would go to the house by car, but that’s all the staff can do for them before they have to cut ties with all their projects.

They have to go in three separate cars because all 13 of them can’t fit into just one or two cars. The people in car 1 are Jisoo, Jeonghan, Hansol, and Seokmin. In the second are Seungcheol, Chan, Jun, and Seungkwan. Wonwoo is in the third car along with Mingyu, Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Minghao.

They’re gathered at the front entrance when they first meet Project PT. The girls are also preparing to leave for their house, and everyone will forever remember how awestruck Hansol is upon seeing one of the girls.

“Hi, Seungcheol, Jeonghan!” The tallest waves to Jeonghan and Seungcheol, smiling at them. Her brown and red ombre suits her tan skin perfectly. 

“Nayoung, you’re leaving today too? Where’s Kyungwon?” Seungcheol shakes her hand.

“Yeah.” Nayoung gestures to a bubbly girl behind her, the one that Hansol was in complete awe over. “Eunwoo takes a while to pack, plus Sungyeon and Kyla were in town for a few days.” Two girls who look considerably younger than Nayoung herself wave to the group. “Kyungwon already took off for the new place.”

“Sorry, Nana.” A girl who bears a resemblance to Seungkwan with her round face and kind eyes apologises. 

“You’re good, don’t worry, Sungyeon. Anyway, this won’t be the last we see of each other, so I’ll introduce my group. I’m Nayoung and I’m number 1. Eunwoo is number 4, Jieqiong is number 6, Sungyeon is number 8, and Kyla is number 10. Nice to meet you guys.” They all say the last sentence in complete sync while bowing. 

Mingyu whispers in Wonwoo’s ear, “When will we ever be that organized?” Wonwoo chuckles, thinking about how chaotic their group is.

“I thought there were ten of you?” Soonyoung asks, confused. “I’m Soonyoung by the way.”

“Some of our girls already left for the new house; Number 2, Minkyung; number 3, Kyungwon; number 5, Yebin; number 7, Yewon; and number 9, Siyeon.” Nayoung replies.

“I’m Seokmin, number 8. How old are you guys?”

“Eunwoo, can you take this? Kyungwon is calling me.” Taking out her vibrating phone, Nayoung goes outside to take the call, and Eunwoo, although disoriented by the sudden change in authority, answers Seokmin’s question with ease.

“Oh, yeah. Nayoung unnie is 22, Minkyung unnie and Kyungwon unnie are 20, I’m 19 and so are Jieqiong, Yebin, and Yewon, Sungyeon is 18, Siyeon is 17 and Kyla is 16. You guys have so many people…” Eunwoo says in awe, large doe eyes looking at the sheer amount of people in Project SVT. Her blonde hair falls a little past her midriff, and Wonwoo understands how Hansol falls for her at first glance. She’s beautiful. 

“Oh, we should introduce ourselves.” Jeonghan realizes. “I’m number 2, Jeonghan. In age order we’re Seungcheol, me, Jisoo, Jun, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Seokmin, Mingyu, Minghao, Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan.” As he names them, Jeonghan points to the owner of each name.

“Um, is Hansol oppa okay? He seems nervous.” Kyla observes as Hansol’s face becomes more and more red.

“I’m sure he’s just under the weather.” Jisoo covers for his dongsaeng, who is internally dying of awkwardness. But they can all tell what is really going on thanks to his involuntary glances toward Eunwoo. She doesn’t notice, thankfully, but all of Project SVT does. 

“Oh, I hope you feel better. Anyway, nice to meet you. Hopefully we’ll see more you guys in the future.” Eunwoo gives him a wide smile before gathering her dongsaengs and joining Nayoung outside.

They all stand for a silent moment before bursting into laughter. Hansol sinks to the ground, burying his face in his arms out of embarrassment, saying something about that Eunwoo is really pretty and that’s all it is.

“That’s enough. Let’s just get going so we can get unpacked at the house.” Seungcheol says, trying to restore order.

“Yeah, leave Hansol alone. He can’t help that kind of stuff.” Seungkwan defends him.

Mingyu whistles. “I bet.”

“Mingyu…” Seungcheol says warningly, and Mingyu’s smile vanishes.

Jeonghan ushers them all outside where the cars are waiting. The PT girls had left already. They pile into the cars and leave one by one.

They are the second car to arrive at the house; Seungcheol’s car is the first, and Jeonghan’s car comes last. The place is huge. There is a two car garage and a shed. They don’t have any use for it, but it’s nice anyway. There are six bedrooms though, so everyone will have to share and one room will have three people. One half bathroom is on the first floor and two full ones are on the second. They aren’t small either. The kitchen is easily the size of the master bedroom and the dining room is a bit bigger. There is a family and living room too.

Chan, Booseoksoon, Jun, and Mingyu zip in and out of each room after bringing all of their things inside while the rest of them prepare dinner, since it’s already four o’clock by the time they got everything organized. Seungcheol stir-fries some beef, green beans, and sweet onions, and the rest of them start to unpack the bowls, plates, and utensils, and when they finish with all that, instead of eating in the dining room, they eat on the floor of the family room.

“We have to choose roommates.” Hansol says as he stuffs his cheeks with food.

“Yeah, I checked the rooms, but one of them is a single, so we’re going to have to fit four people in the master bedroom or three people in a regular room.” Jun says.

“So let’s do rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets the single.” Seungcheol declares and puts out his first to start the game. Everyone else does the same. “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” They do that again and again until a winner is decided. Seokmin gets the single.

“How long does he get to stay in the single?” Seungkwan questions.

“I’d say we’ll set it for… two years?” Seungcheol replies, and Seungkwan seems satisfied.

“How are we going to arrange the other rooms?” Wonwoo asks.

“We’ll do three in the master, three in the biggest regular, and two in the rest.” Jeonghan answers.

“First off, is there anyone who wants to share with a specific person?” Minghao says. Mingyu and Wonwoo immediately make eye contact, as do Jun and Minghao. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo all point at each other. Soonyoung eagerly bounces up and down as he looks at Jihoon, who reluctantly agrees to room with him, and Seungkwan nods at Hansol. He meets Seungkwan’s gaze with a little bit of guilt, but accepts nonetheless. 

Chan laughs bitterly. “I’m always alone, aren’t I?”

"Chan, you can stay with me and Seungkwan." Hansol offers, and Chan flashes him a thankful smile.

"Thanks, hyung."

“Okay! Now that that’s figured out, after we finish eating, everyone who helped in the kitchen go bring your stuff to a room. Everyone who didn’t, you’ll be the cleaning crew.” Mingyu orders.

“Yes, sir.” They all reply. 

Minghao quickly finishes his food and leaves for upstairs, bringing his bags with him. Wonwoo finishes eating after him, grabs his bags, and goes to the second floor to pick a room. Picking a room near the bathroom, he sees that there is already furniture inside -- two beds, two wardrobes, and two desks, all identical. When he checks the other rooms, they all have the same things. Somehow, all of their furniture from the Lab has disappeared, but Wonwoo decides to ignore it.

He drops his things on a bed and begins to unpack his stuff. When he has finished emptying one bag, Mingyu comes in with his stuff. He lets his bags fall to the ground and collapses on the bed. 

“Hey, get up and unpack your things.” Wonwoo says, pulling on Mingyu’s muscled arm. A groan is the only thing he got in response. “Come on, come on, get up.” 

Mingyu rolls off the bed onto the ground, landing with a thud. “Okay.” He drawls.

They have all of their things unpacked quickly and as Wonwoo takes a shower, Mingyu rearranges the furniture to his liking. Wonwoo just lets Mingyu do what he wants, not having enough energy to fight back.

When everyone finishes their nightly routine, they gather once again the family room, now complete with a coffee table and couches.

“Now, we’re going to have to go on our own.” Seungcheol starts. “We have to make our own money, we have to depend on each other for protection, we have to pay our phone bills and more. We need to be thrifty and united, now more than ever. We need to remember what we’ve been through and stick together. All we have is ourselves, and we have no one else to lean on. This is life.”

Chan sticks his hand out to start a cheer, and they all follow his action. “Let’s promise that we’ll never go against each other, we’ll always stick together, even in our dreams!”

They cheer and promise. After that, they go to their rooms. Mingyu had pushed together the beds, so the pair sleeps practically on the same bed.

As they lay there in complete peace, Mingyu grasps Wonwoo’s hand. “Hyung, we’ll always be together, right?” Wonwoo fit himself into Mingyu’s broad chest.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	4. 4. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> China Line and Jihan go out to get a job. On the way, they meet Jieqiong, and afterwards, Jeonghan and Joshua find out a secret of one of the members. Also, it gets pretty h o t .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This does take place in an alternate universe, so the countries are different and so is the currency. As a reference, 75 deu is around USD 1.  
> Mild smut(?) if that's what you wanna call it. It's also the most romance you're getting until the very end, so if you're only in this for the ships, this is not the story for you.

The next morning, the group decides that Jeonghan, Jun, Minghao and Jisoo would go to town to look for jobs. Jun remembers that the grocery store was hiring, so they head to that place first. On the way, they see a familiar face, and Minghao and Jun wave to her.

“Hi, Jieqiong!” She comes up to the group.

“Hi! It’s Jun and Minghao, right? And the two with you are Jeonghan and Jisoo?”

Jisoo is impressed by her memory, and so is Minghao. “You even remember our faces?” Minghao asks in awe.

“I have a really good memory, so it’s easy for me.” Jieqiong replies proudly. “Are you guys going to apply for a job at the grocery store?”

“Yeah. You are?” Jeonghan wonders as they continue to walk to the store. Jieqiong nods.

“I hope we get to work together.” Jun innocently says. She smiles widely at them.

“They way you speak, are you from Nexor?” Jisoo takes notice of her Nexor accent.

“I am.” She replies, and Jisoo nods.

“I thought so. Jun and Minghao are Nexor too.”

“I could figure.”

“Do you speak Nexor?” Jeonghan asks, opening the door of the grocery store for them.

“A bit. I haven’t spoken it at all for the past 19 years.”

Jun says something to her in Nexor, and her reply seems strained and hesitant. They start to talk as Jeonghan and Jisoo go to customer service.

“Hi, we’re looking to apply for a job.” Jisoo tells the man standing behind the counter.

He pulls out some forms from under the counter and gives them to Jeonghan and Jisoo. “Can you please fill these out? Then give them back to me. I’ll get it to my manager.” Jeonghan and Jisoo thank him, take the forms for the both of them and the other three, and head back to them. Project SVT’s Nexor two are trying to get Jieqiong to remember her Nexor vocabulary, and she does seem to be speaking better than when Jisoo left, but she still doesn’t sound confident.

“Kids, fill out these forms, then give it to the guy at the customer service counter.” Jeonghan instructs, handing out the papers and pens to everyone.

“Yes, sir.” They say back in unison.

On the form, they have to write their legal name, their dates of birth, any education, their email, and their phone number. Jisoo fills it out quickly and goes to turn it into the guy at the counter.

“Congrats, you’ve been hired. Manager gave me the authority to hire people on the spot.” He says curtly. “Where’s your friend?”

Jeonghan comes up with Jun behind him. “I’m here.” They hand it to the guy, who proceeds to hire them as well. As Jisoo turns to check where Minghao was, he sees Minghao and Jieqiong having a light-hearted conversation. The look in both of their eyes is something easily understood.

Jun, being the sociable and easy-going person he was, strikes a conversation with the man, so Jisoo pokes Jeonghan. “Look,” Jisoo gestures to Minghao and Jieqiong, “The kids are in love.” Jeonghan takes a good long look at the two.

“Wonder how Jun feels about it.” He muses.

“Beats me. I don’t think he’ll stress about it. He’ll just support Minghao either way. You know how he is.”

Jeonghan agrees with Jisoo as they come to the counter to submit their papers.

“Great, you guys start tomorrow. Come at 9 in the morning so I can show you the ropes.” They acknowledge him and then leave the store.

Around 8th street, Jieqiong takes her leave. Now she speaks easily in Nexor thanks to Minghao and Jun’s constant conversation in their native language. Jun doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by the other two’s flirting in front of him, but there’s probably more to it than Jisoo can see. 

On the way home, Jeonghan reminds Jisoo that they are out of snacks. They had eaten them all during the moving process, so Jeonghan and Jisoo send Jun and Minghao home while the older two go to the convenience store. 

“Did you bring your wallet?” Jeonghan asks Jisoo.

“Yeah. So I guess I’m buying. The kids better reimburse me for getting them food.” Jisoo jokes.

“Charge interest.” Jeonghan says with an evil smile spreading across his face.

“I’ll charge an extra 1500 deu for each day they can’t pay me back, on top of interest.”

“Oh, this’ll be fun.”

Jisoo stops him. “We won’t actually charge them, will we?” Jeonghan shakes his head.

“No, we’ll just tell them that we’re charging. If they believe us, then it’s just some pocket money, you know?” Jisoo facepalms.

“Anyway, should we buy a lot?” Jisoo asks as they enter the store, bowing to the cashier while walking in.

“Just enough to last us until the end of the week. Then if we need to, we’ll get more.”

“Okay. You’ll get food for the babies, and I’ll shop for the older ones.” Jeonghan salutes Jisoo and goes to get the snacks.

The babies are Seokmin, Mingyu, Minghao, Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan. Jisoo sent Jeonghan to get their food because he’s basically their mom. Everyone else is classified as an older one, and since he’s closer with them, Jisoo’s getting their snacks.

He rendezvous with Jeonghan at the checkout area, both of their arms filled to the brim with snack bags and boxes. “Is this enough?” Jeonghan asks, shifting his haul around uncomfortably.

“It’s all we can carry.” Jisoo answers. The cashier looks at them and although he tries to hide it, Jisoo can see his face change to a grimace.

Jeonghan and Jisoo drop the snacks on the counter and Jeonghan looks at the black-haired man pulling out his wallet. “How much do you have on you?”

Jisoo flips through his bills. “In cash, I have about 4,970 deu, but I also have my credit card, so we can pay for it, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

“It is too much?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. Once we start working it’ll be okay.”

“Minimum wage is only something like 625 deu though. Will that really be fine?”

“13 people times 625 deu.” Jisoo states in an attempt to calm Jeonghan’s anxiousness.

“The utilities for 13 people, plus having to buy food, clothing, and things for basic hygiene. We’ll have to spend more than we make. I’m sorry, can you repeat that again?” The cashier had said something during Jeonghan’s talking.

“Your total is 3343 deu. Cash or card?”

Jisoo takes his credit card out and gives it to the cashier. He slides it into the card reader, and it makes an alarming beep noise a moment later, causing Jeonghan and Jisoo to lock eyes in unease. The cashier grits his teeth. “Sorry, give me a second.” He tries it again, with the same beep following. “I have to go get my manager. Please wait a second.” Retreating into the staff room, the cashier leaves us.

“Don’t you have a lot of money in your card?” Jeonghan worries.

“I do. You know I’ve barely used my allowance in the past three years, so I almost 120,000 deu. There’s enough.” Jisoo replies calmly, although on the inside he’s freaking out.  _ Shoot, shoot, shoot, what happened to all my money? Did I get robbed?  _

“Is there something wrong with the reader then, if you’re not at fault?” Jeonghan emphasizes the ‘you’re’.

“Stop accusing me and quit worrying. It’ll be fine. Look, the manager is coming now to fix it.” The cashier comes out with his manager, who looks deathly familiar with his rounded cheeks and dark blonde hair. 

“Seungkwan?” Jeonghan and Jisoo ask in unison, and the manager’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Jeonghan hyung, Jisoo hyung, what are you doing here?”

“Getting snacks for you guys at home? Why are you?” Jisoo asks suspiciously.

“I may have been working here for about a year.” Seungkwan replies, glancing off to the side, not wanting to even look at his two hyungs in front of him.

“But you never told us?” Jeonghan says and Seungkwan averts the piercing gaze thrown in his direction. In annoyance, Jeonghan runs his fingers through his red-brown hair that falls just short of his ear.

“I’ll explain at home. Just let me fix this damn card reader.” Seungkwan says, and the cashier looks away, uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere.

Seungkwan glares at the screen on the reader after pressing a few buttons on the keypad. He quickly clicks a few more, but keeps looking angrily at the reader. Jeonghan leans on his leg and folds his arms, clearly not happy Seungkwan has been keeping secrets from them. Jisoo puts his arm around Jeonghan’s shoulder and squeezes his elder. As Seungkwan continues to fix the reader, Jeonghan’s nose starts twitching. Jisoo pulls him closer and tries to calm Jeonghan down. Why he is so mad Jisoo doesn’t know, but he does know that Seungkwan is in for an earful when he gets home.

Once Jeonghan sees Seungkwan sliding the card through the reader, he becomes eager to leave. The poor cashier, who had been caught in between them, had bagged the haul while Seungkwan was working.   
Jisoo isn’t that affected by the revelation, but he does want to know how he hasn’t noticed that Seungkwan is working. He gives Jisoo the card back and Jeonghan grabs the bags. Before they leave, Jeonghan makes eye contact with an anxious Seungkwan. 

“I’ll see you at home.” Then Jeonghan whips around dramatically and walks briskly out the door. Jisoo quickly bows to Seungkwan and the cashier in gratitude, and then follows Jeonghan out.

He has to jog in order to catch up with Jeonghan. “Hey, slow down.” Jisoo calls. 

“Did you know about this?” Jeonghan demands to know.

“No, I’m as clueless as you are.” Jisoo replies. 

“Aren’t you mad? He kept this from us for a whole year, Jisoo. We should have a right to know.”

“I don’t know,” Jisoo muses. “If he didn’t tell us, he must’ve had a reason.”

Jeonghan finally stops charging down the street and faces Jisoo. “Don’t you remember? That promise we all made when we were allowed outside?”

Of course Jisoo remembers. They had promised each other almost 12 years ago that they will never keep secrets, even if they think it’s for everyone’s sake. “Yeah, I remember.” 

“So then you should know why I’m so upset.” Jeonghan starts walking again. “He’s the one always telling us that if something is bothering us that we should worry together. Why did he think he has to keep his job a secret? We would’ve been fine with it.”

“I’m sure he had his reasons. Just wait until he gives us an explanation later. Don’t think about it.” Jisoo holds Jeonghan’s hand after taking the shopping bags, rubbing his thumb on the back of Jeonghan’s palm. He sees Jeonghan’s face relax, so they are able to have a carefree conversation on the way back.

In order to unlock the door, Jisoo has to let go of Jeonghan’s hand. Now with Jeonghan left alone, the most confident person with skinship and the most impulsive person Jisoo knew, Jisoo feels Jeonghan’s hand creep into his back pocket, and Jeonghan’s head, resting on his shoulder before now, comes closer to his. Jeonghan’s breath brushes past Jisoo’s jaw and collarbone, and his body freezes.

“What are you doing?” Jisoo nervously asks. 

“Something fun.” Jeonghan says, blowing air onto his ear. Blood rushes to Jisoo’s face so fast and in so much quantity he genuinely though he was going to die. 

“Have fun another time with someone else.” He sputters, forcing his body to move so that he can escape Jeonghan’s teasing. The key turns, the lock clicks, and Jisoo steps inside before Jeonghan can do anything else. “Chan, come here!”

Chan’s footsteps are audible as he comes down the stairs. “Yes?”

“Take these.” After pulling Jeonghan’s hand from his pocket, Jisoo gives Chan the bags filled with snacks. “Is everyone home?”

“Seungkwan hyung’s gone somewhere; Mingyu hyung and Seungcheol hyung went to the gym; Jihoon hyung, Seokmin hyung, and Soonyoung hyung went to the park; Minghao hyung and Hansol hyung went for a walk.” As soon as Jisoo gives Chan the bags, Chan has already pulled out his favorite snack, strawberry jello, and has started eating it. 

“Great. Can you do me a favor and put those away?” Chan slurps up the rest of the jello and goes to the kitchen, snacks in tow. Jisoo does a mental check of who was home. Wonwoo, Chan, Jun, Jeonghan, and Jisoo himself. Knowing Wonwoo, he’s probably lying in bed on his phone. Jun is most likely sleeping. He just saw Chan, but since he’s doing something for Jisoo, he doesn’t want to leave the youngest with Jeonghan. Jisoo just needs to get away from Jeonghan and clear his head. His groin area has been tight since Jeonghan put his hand in Jisoo’s pocket, and that needs to be taken care of before Jisoo can be near the brunet. 

But Jisoo can’t even put his keys back into his pocket before he feels Jeonghan’s arms wrap around his waist. The keys clatter on the ground. This time, he can’t form words at all due to his overworked mind. 

“I don’t want to do it to anyone else though. Just to you, Jisoo Hong.” Jisoo’s head is overheating and short circuiting more than ever before. A burning desire circles through his stomach down to the hooked organ protruding from his crotch, increasing in size by the second. He can’t breathe due to the amount of arousal, and it feels like he has swallowed his tongue.

“Don’t,” He breathes out shakily, “tease me. Only-Only do it i-if you m-mean it.” His entire body shakes like it’s on vibrate, and his vision begins to blur with want barely kept inside. 

“I do mean it. I always have and always will.” Jeonghan lets go and spins Jisoo to look him straight in the eye. Trembling, Jisoo finally collapses to the floor. “But you didn’t appreciate it, did you?” Now he looks a bit guilty. Too little, too late. Jisoo has already gone insane. “I just couldn’t hold it in anymore after that whole thing with Seungkwan.” Jisoo doesn’t think about the consequences, he just moves. He doesn’t care that Chan is probably still in the kitchen and not upstairs, he just moves. He doesn’t care that Jeonghan is a third of an inch taller than him, he doesn’t even think about how Jeonghan is almost ten pounds heavier than him. All Jisoo knows right now is one of the most basic human instincts. 

Before Jeonghan or Jisoo can understand what’s happening, their lips are locked in a way that suffocates both of them. Their hands are everywhere and neither of them want it to stop. Multiple feelings rage inside Jisoo, but one wins.

In the midst of all this, though, they don’t notice the two spectators watching from the kitchen and top of the stairs. They probably would’ve stayed unnoticed if Wonwoo hadn’t wolf-whistled. 

“Damn,  _ that _ ,” Chan says, impressed, “was pretty hot. Luckily for you two, I draw the line at voyeurism though.” 

Wonwoo laughs at Jisoo and Jeonghan’s flushed faces. “The shower’s open. You probably need it.” Jeonghan’s face turns a bright red, and Jisoo bolts up the stairs and into the shower.

When the ice cold water calms his erection, Jisoo lets out a sigh of embarrassment. “Oh my god.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	5. 5. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Seungkwan gets home, an explanation is given and other secrets are nearly spilled.

When Mingyu gets home from working out with Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jisoo have already made dinner, and everyone except Seungkwan is home. They’re all sitting at the table, talking about something so heavy it makes Mingyu feel crushed. 

“Hey, guys.” He says, pulling out a chair. 

Not skipping a beat, Jeonghan stares at him and Seungcheol. “Did you two know about Seungkwan’s job?” Seungcheol raises his eyebrows.

“His what?”

“His job, Seungcheol, keep up.” Jisoo replies, sipping his tea, and Seungcheol’s forehead creases with concentration.

“I didn’t know. Mingyu?” Mingyu shakes his head.

“I’ll admit I was suspicious of him a bit, but I didn’t look into it, so I didn’t know.”

“Well, he’s been working for a year, apparently. Without telling anyone.” Jeonghan seems more upset than necessary, Mingyu notices. “Not even Seokmin or Soonyoung knew.” The two, sitting on both sides of Jihoon, nod to verify. 

“He really didn’t tell anyone? Mr. ‘Let’s worry together’? What a joke.” Seungcheol yanks on a chair so hard and quickly that it leaves a mark on the ground. 

“We should give him the benefit of the doubt.” Soonyoung tries to defend Seungkwan.

“Yeah, I’m sure he has an explanation.” Seokmin adds, causing Jihoon to scoff. 

“Knowing him, it’ll probably be something stupid like ‘I never found the right time’.”

“He’s not that kind of person though.” Chan remarks. Mingyu is surprised by this. Chan, who is always bickering with his hyung, is helping to defend him? “He can be serious sometimes. He’ll give you the explanation you need. You should have more faith in him.”

“Just wait for him. Don’t assume the worst of him so early on.” Jisoo says. 

“Besides,” Soonyoung starts, “It’s not really worrying. It’s nothing bad, so maybe he thought he didn’t need to tell us.”

Beside Mingyu, Hansol mutters, “You guys are stupid. He tried telling you, but you never fucking listened.”

“What did you say, Hansol?” Jeonghan’s brown eyes land on the 20-year-old, who trembles under the pressure of an angry parent.

“Nothing.” Hansol says quickly. “It’s nothing.”

“Good.”

“Now we wait.” Seungcheol says.

“Try not to kill him when he gets home.” Jisoo smirks at Seungcheol from across the table.

“It all depends. Can he give me a reason to not kill him?” Seungcheol replies, the smallest hint of mirth in his voice. 

Now that the conversation is over, Mingyu focuses on everyone’s feelings about what is going on. Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Jihoon are obviously angry. Minghao, Jun, and Wonwoo seem confused but they’re willing to accept whatever Seungkwan has to say. Seokmin, Hansol, Jisoo, and Chan are ready to fight to defend Seungkwan, no matter what happens.

Also, Mingyu notices that underneath the table, Jisoo is rubbing Jeonghan’s palm in order to keep the older from blowing a fuse. Seungkwan certainly has a lot to deal with when he comes home. Mingyu himself feels more apathetic toward the situation, and as long as the excuse is reasonable, then he’ll accept it. But even if Seungkwan has almost everyone supporting him, it won’t be enough to protect him from Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jihoon. Jisoo can’t keep Jeonghan’s temper down for long, no matter how hard he tries.

Mingyu genuinely fears for both his ears and for Seungkwan’s life.

~~~

Seungkwan doesn’t come home until late at night, around 10:30.

Jeonghan and Seungcheol are sitting in the dark, and as soon as Seungkwan comes in, they spin around in their swivel chairs, stroking Jun’s stuffed cats. Hansol is in charge of turning the lights on, so he sees the whole interaction while Mingyu is watching from the staircase and can only see so much.

“Coming home a bit late now, are we?” Jeonghan says haughtily.

“I hope you have an explanation.” Seungcheol clears his throat. “A good one.” He clarifies.

“I,” Seungkwan started, but he couldn’t finish, mouth shut in the face of the intimidation methods of the group’s parents. 

“Well?” Jeonghan expectantly asks, throwing aside the cat. 

No answer.

“Seungkwan?”

No answer, and now Mingyu is getting anxious on Seungkwan’s behalf. 

“Are you going to say anything?” 

Mingyu peeks out from the staircase to look at the scene unfolding in the family room. Seungkwan is staring at the ground, his red face contrasting with his dirty blonde hair, shaking in either fear or anger. 

Mingyu would’ve come out himself if it isn’t for Hansol running in from the hallway. He gathers Seungkwan into his arms, holding him tight while whispering calming words into Seungkwan’s ears. Chan follows Hansol out of the hallway and faces Jeonghan and Seungcheol.  _ No, don’t fight them, Chan,  _ Mingyu thinks, scared for Chan’s life now as well as Seungkwan’s.

“Can’t you just  _ lay off?  _ The last thing he needs is you two grilling him like he just murdered someone!” Mingyu cringes inwardly as Chan goes against the two eldest.

“Let’s just be civil about it. Okay?” Hansol bends down so that Seungkwan could meet his eyes. Nervously, Seungkwan nods and Seungcheol sighs. 

“Alright. Bring them in, Jisoo.”

The way the new house is set up, there is a balcony on the second floor so that the family room is visible from the second floor, and there are couches lined up against the wall between the kitchen and the family room. Mingyu watches in horror as Jisoo leads the rest of the household in jumping off the balcony onto the couches. 

“Where’s Mingyu hyung?” Seungkwan asks.

“On the staircase. Hey, Mingyu! Come here!” Minghao yells, and Mingyu hops over the guard rail.

“Great, now the whole gang’s here. Start talking, Seungkwan.” Jeonghan says curtly.

“Be polite, Jeonghan. He’s still your brother.” Jisoo warns. Then he turns to Seungkwan with a gentle, warm look. “Go ahead. Take your time.” Seungkwan’s Adam’s apple bobs as he gulps nervously, not comfortable enough to talk.

“Actually,” Jun’s voice cuts through the silence, “have you eaten yet? Let’s just reheat some dinner. Once you eat, you’ll feel calmer. I’m sure you didn’t expect to be treated like this. Come with me to the breakfast nook.” He takes Seungkwan away before Jeonghan or Seungcheol can protest. Mingyu forgets how good Jun is at reading other people’s feelings and dealing with them appropriately. Hansol, Chan, Seokmin, and Soonyoung go along too, probably so they could strategize. 

Jisoo takes a seat next to Jeonghan, and Mingyu clearly see Jeonghan digging his nails into Jisoo’s thighs, trying to keep calm. Mingyu sits next to Wonwoo, who was on his phone. Peeking over onto the screen, Mingyu sees the title of the article that Wonwoo was reading. It read ‘How to create dreams’. Fear grips Mingyu’s heart, not knowing why the hell Wonwoo would be reading something like that.

Luckily, Wonwoo realizes that Mingyu has looked and quickly closes the window, turning off his phone. He smiles sheepishly as he puts the phone in between the cracks of the couch cushions. Mingyu tries to forget it, because he doesn’t want to think that Wonwoo is trying to become a god. 

For the next few minutes, all Mingyu can hear is the low hum of chatter from the nook and Jisoo and Minghao’s constant whispers of ‘calm down’ to Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Jihoon. Mingyu knows those three want the group to be a family with no closed doors or secrets, but they have expectations that are too high for everyone to reach. 

The Seungkwan defense group comes back, with Seungkwan looking just as nervous as before. Mingyu doesn’t think eating made him any more at home, but applauds Jun mentally for his quick thinking.

“Are you ready now?” Jisoo asks calmly.

Seungcheol adds, “No running away.” Minghao, who is sitting on the ground below Seungcheol, jabs the older’s calf with his finger. “Sorry.” Seungcheol apologizes, getting Minghao’s message of ‘don’t do that’.

“I guess so.” replies Seungkwan.

“Good. Can you answer our questions head on, with honest answers?” asks Jeonghan, to which Seungkwan nods.

“Then why?” Seungcheol’s eyes are filled with hurt. “I thought we swore to tell each other everything, didn’t we?” Seungkwan’s silence can only be caused by his guilt. Seungcheol stares him down for five minutes while Seungkwan keeps his mouth shut. 

“Why?” He asks again, and all they can hear is the deep breaths that Seungkwan is taking.

“Seungkwan.” Now, Seungcheol’s calm mask is breaking, and his voice grows more irritated. “Are you going to an--”

“Because none of you listen to me!” Finally, Seungkwan explodes. “I can’t even count how many times I’ve tried to tell someone, only for them to just ignore me because I’m part of Booseoksoon! Even Seokmin hyung and Soonyoung hyung didn’t take me seriously! The only person who listened was Hansol, and now you guys are getting on me? It’s your own fault! I just gave up on trying because none of you cared, obviously. Now that you found out, you ask me why I kept it from you? Seriously? I tried and tried to keep our promise. Is it my fault you guys don’t think I can be serious?” Suddenly, memories of brushing Seungkwan off come flooding through Mingyu’s mind, and guilt chokes him. Looking around, Mingyu sees that everyone else is starting to remember too. 

But for some reason, even after all that, Jeonghan still tries blaming his dongsaeng. “You should’ve told us you were being serious.” He says. 

“You think I didn’t try? Trust me, I did, but who would listen to me, right?” Seungkwan shoots back.

Before Jeonghan can reply, Soonyoung steps in. “All of you need to think about it. You’re loading shit on Seungkwan, but don’t you all have your own secrets? Cause I know a lot of you have told me things then made me swear not to tell anyone. Hypocritical much?”

“You’re lying.” Jeonghan grits his teeth, refusing to accept the reality that his babies hadn’t been telling him everything. 

“No, I’m as honest as you’re mad, which is enough I’m sure.” Soonyoung says in return. 

Perhaps Soonyoung’s last comment sent Jeonghan over the edge. He stands up, leaving Jisoo fumbling to keep his temper under control. His brown eyes lock onto Soonyoung and Seungkwan’s. “Oh really? You’re going to be like this? Do you think I want to treat any of you like this? I hate being mad at you all, and it’s killing me to be like this. But I have to be the bad guy in this situation. I’m not going to be gentle. You,” Jeonghan says, looking straight at Seungkwan, “have disobeyed one of our core rules: Do not keep secrets, no matter what you think is best for everyone. Your circumstances, whatever they may be, are not enough to be a liable excuse, not for me at least.” Now Jeonghan turns to Soonyoung. “And you, if people are telling you secrets, you’re responsible for telling them the rules. In a way, you’re just as guilty as them, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung takes a deep breath to control his rising anger and begins to fight back. “You’re so stubborn and determined to get everyone against Seungkwan. Is it because of what you told me? Should I tell everyone else why you’re being like this?” Soonyoung glares at Jeonghan, then turns to face everyone else. Seokmin and Hansol are shaking their heads frantically, and Mingyu guesses that Soonyoung is going off-script and ruining whatever plan they had.

Jeonghan, who is on the opposite side of the room from Soonyoung, takes a step toward the younger. “Do it, and you’ll deal with the consequences.”

“Oh ho, you’re grilling Seungkwan hyung for keeping secrets. Why are you any different, Yoon Jeonghan?” Chan asks, dropping honorifics. In the corner of his eye, Mingyu sees Hansol facepalm and Seokmin sigh in frustration. Jeonghan’s eyebrows crease and he harshly blows air out of his nose. Jisoo grabs Jeonghan’s hand and pulls him back to the couch, taking advantage of Jeonghan’s stillness and inability to do anything else. 

Chan’s question takes Jeonghan so off guard that Seungcheol, who’d been silent since Seungkwan’s explosion, is able to finally say something.

“It’s really late, plus we’ve heard everything we really need to. Go do your nightly routine, go to sleep, whatever. Dismissed.” Everyone except for Jisoo, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol stands up instantly. Before leaving, Seungcheol says something to Jisoo and then, he bolts after Soonyoung. 

Mingyu trudges up the stairs, exhausted even though he did nothing during this whole thing. Inside his room with Wonwoo, he launches himself onto the bed and passes out practically as soon as his head hits the pillow.

~~~

“Mingyu, Kim Mingyu, wake up.” Mingyu is rudely shaken from his sleep by a pair of nervous hands. When he opens his eyes, he is met by Wonwoo’s pitch black ones.

“What?” He moans groggily.

“Soonyoung and Seungcheol hyung are missing.” Wonwoo replies. At this, Mingyu shoots out of this bed and runs downstairs. Jisoo and Jun are comforting Jeonghan, who could only manage to say ‘it’s my fault’ in between heaving sobs. Minghao is calling Jieqiong to tell her and Project PT to keep an eye out for Seungcheol and Soonyoung. Jihoon and Chan are just about to go to town to try and find the missing two members. Seokmin, an early riser, is already out and about trying to find them. Hansol and Seungkwan are reading the note that Soonyoung and Seungcheol had left behind. 

Mingyu walks to Hansol and Seungkwan while he scans their reactions. Hansol seems more worried about Seungkwan than the situation at hand, and Mingyu doesn’t blame him. Seungkwan looks like he rose from the dead, definitely tired from last night’s mess. Now having to deal with this, a light breeze could probably blow him over easily.

Mingyu reads the note. It’s short and simple, saying only that they’d be back before the end of the week. Seungkwan sways on his feet. Luckily, he catches himself before he can fall completely. It seems like everyone is in a panic, even Jihoon. Mingyu turns to Wonwoo.

“Is this true? They’re actually…” Mingyu trails off, not even wanting to finish the thought.

“Well, they’re not at home. Jisoo hyung said that last night, Seungcheol hyung told him to take care of everyone, and he’ll be right back. Who knows how long they’ll actually take.” Wonwoo sighs. “Let’s just try our best to find them.”

“Affirmative, captain.” Mingyu salutes, then turns to the door. But in the midst of all this, Mingyu finally realizes something. “Wonwoo? Aren’t you going to help look? You don’t even seem fazed.”

Wonwoo scratches his head nervously. “Honestly? I’m not really that worried. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even bother looking for them.”

This draws the attention of Hansol, who had just brought Seungkwan to the couch so he can rest a bit more. “Really? Why not? Don’t you care about them?”

“I do care, which is why I wouldn’t try finding them. They just need some time to cool off. Plus people who don’t want to be found won’t be. Trying to bring them back would just be a waste of energy.”

“A waste, huh. Well, I see your logic, but what if they get hurt? They could be in serious trouble, and we wouldn’t be able to help.” Mingyu says.

“Oh well. Either way, we’re still looking for them, so let’s just drop it.” Wonwoo says.

“Shit, it’s almost 9. Minghao, let’s go. Wonwoo, we have to go to work. You’re in charge until we get back.” Jisoo grabs Jeonghan and Jun, drags them to the door, and leave just as quickly as everything had spiralled out of control with the group.

“Just continue doing your thing.” Wonwoo waves them off as he turns around on his phone. Mingyu watches him curiously for a few minutes before Wonwoo sighs, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

He whispers, “They’re doing whatever they think is best for us, why can’t I do the same?” 

Mingyu doesn’t have enough time to figure out what the hell Wonwoo is talking about before he’s dragged away by Jihoon.

“We’re going to look for them. You’re coming with.” And Mingyu lets the shorter man pull him out the door down the path to town, not having enough energy to fight back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	6. 6. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Wonwoo goes out job searching with Seokmin, they meet a fairy. Afterwards, he goes out to meet with a teacher.

They can’t find the missing two that day. Nor the next day. In fact, they don’t come back until 4 A.M. on Friday. Wonwoo doesn’t see them until morning, but they say they have to go somewhere and that they’d fill everyone in later. Fair enough. Today is Wonwoo’s turn to go job-searching. He and Seokmin are the only ones other than Seungcheol and Soonyoung who are unemployed. Jun and Chan have even started asking about full-time jobs. So Wonwoo takes Seokmin and leaves.

On the way to town, Wonwoo walks at a brisk pace. He has an appointment at 10:30, which was in less than two hours, given that it was 8:41. Seokmin, although he had longer strides than Wonwoo, had to run to catch up.

“Slow down, Wonwoo, what’s the hurry?” He asks, latching onto Wonwoo’s shirt sleeve like a child.

“I just have something I need to do after this. It’d be nice if I had some time before I had to go to it.” Wonwoo slows down a bit while taking Seokmin by the wrist and pulling him along the road.

“Are you gonna tell me where you’re going?” Wonwoo’s silence is answer enough. “Okay then. Where is this job that we’re applying for?” Seokmin changes the subject quickly.

“Option 1 is a park caretaker. Option 2 is the flower shop on 6th. Your choice because I don’t have a preference.” Wonwoo tells the younger.

“Flower shop.” Seokmin replies almost instantly.

“Flower shop it is. Let’s go.” Wonwoo picks up the pace, and Seokmin trails behind him like a duck.

Luckily for Wonwoo, the shop is located near the residential area, plus their house is generally close to 6th street. They’re able to get there in less than 10 minutes, thank god.

“Why would a flower shop be open so early?” Seokmin asks, opening the door.

“Maybe people like flowers that much.” Wonwoo muses.

“Good morning!” Wonwoo feels like he had heard that voice before, but he quickly realizes he hasn’t. “How can I help you?”

Wonwoo looks at the worker’s face. “We’re looking for a job. Can we talk to the manager?”

“Actually, I’m the owner of this shop. All these,” She gestures to the may flowers in the store, “are grown by me and a few friends. I’m Choi Yuna, by the way.” She holds out her hand for Wonwoo to shake, and he takes it.

“Jeon Wonwoo. And the other one with me is Lee Seokmin.” Wonwoo points to Seokmin, who is looking at Yuna and the flowers in awe. “Are you hiring?” He asks. Yuna’s eyebrows crease.

“I don’t really need help in the shop, but if you want, you can help me and my friends in the garden. We just got an enormous wedding order and we have to keep the store stocked while we fulfill that. We could definitely use an extra hand. I don’t know how much I can pay though…” Yuna trails off. “Maybe you should get a more stable job.”

“It’s fine.” Wonwoo says, trying to ease her anxiousness. “What about you, Seokmin? You okay working here?” Wonwoo isn’t surprised when he turns around and sees Seokmin in the middle of making a flower crown. He sighs and turns back to Yuna. “I’m sorry. He’ll work here too, and I’ll pay you back for the flowers.”

Yuna’s laugh sounds faintly like twinkling bells. “No, no, you don’t need to do that. It’s cute.” Seokmin’s head whips up when he heard the last comment. He bounds over and places a now finished flower crown onto Yuna’s head.

“For you, ruler of the flowers.” Even though she tries hard to hide, Wonwoo can see her face flush red with embarrassment. 

“Oh my.” Yuna takes a shaky breath before putting a smile back on her face. “Don’t expect special treatment because of that.” She says with mirth.

“I won’t.” Seokmin smiles at her.  _ Cute,  _ Wonwoo thinks as he looks at the flowers in the wreath. One is purple and pink, but he likes the other type. They’re small, simple orange flowers that had a sort of wild field vibe. Wonwoo points to them. “What flowers are these?” Yuna takes the crown off of her head.

“The purple ones are oak-leaved geranium and the orange are called wallflowers. In the language of flowers, the geraniums mean true friendship and wallflowers mean faithfulness in adversity. The wallflowers are actually one of my favorite flowers, so Seokmin chose well.” She smiles at Seokmin, who returns with his bright grin. Wonwoo takes a closer look at the wallflowers. They look familiar.

“Don’t those grow in the front yard?” Seokmin asks him.

“Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure they do.” Wonwoo says, remembering.

“They’re not that common in this town. You guys got lucky.” Yuna states, touching the crown before putting it back on her head. “We’re way off topic. I need your personal information on this paper. If you could fill it out, that’d be great.” She goes behind the counter and gets two sheets of paper. Then they’re given pens.

When Yuna collects the paper, she pulls out her phone. “I’m going to text you right now so when I need to, you can respond knowing who it is, okay?” Seokmin and Wonwoo nod, and Yuna types in our numbers and sends us both a message that says ‘this is Choi Yuna’. She shuts off her phone and looks at them. “Just text or call if you have any questions.”

“Okay. Thank you so much, Yuna.” Wonwoo tells her.

“No problem. I’ll text you two when I need you. Have a nice day!” She calls as they leave the store.

Oddly enough, Seokmin is quiet on the way home. Wonwoo senses something is off, but he doesn’t want to bother him. Besides, he has a basic idea of what’s going on. One would have to be as dense as a black hole to not be able to at least infer his thoughts.

Even though it’s late March and only 9:10 A.M., the weather is still nice. The sun shines overheard and a breeze blew so that anyone could cool down from the warmer temperature. Most flowers and flowering trees have begun to bloom, giving the walkway a sort of look you could only see in pictures. Wonwoo can’t help but take a picture of the scenery, it’s so beautiful. He’s sure he won’t appreciate it later since his allergies will start to annoy him. 

When they’re close to home, Seokmin finally says something. “She’s pretty.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Wonwoo replies.

“Did you see her smile?” Seokmin turns to Wonwoo, looking eager to talk to him.

“I did. Do you like her?” Wonwoo asks.

“Don’t know. I’ve only seen what she looks like on the outside. She could’ve just been being polite. Who knows what she’s really like.” A sensible answer. Since the boys were only released recently, their feelings have been running rampant, but Seokmin is resisting that. Good for him.

“If you make an effort to know her, then you can know for sure.” Wonwoo tells him.

“I know that at least.” Seokmin replies sharply.

In that brief sentence, Wonwoo sees Seokmin’s worries. He doesn’t want to love anyone. He’s scared. Scared of what it would do to the group, of getting attached. He’s scared of getting hurt. 

When Seokmin first came to the Project, Wonwoo was two, but he still remembers what they were told about Seokmin’s background. His parents were careless, young, stupid, and poor. They were druggies and alcoholics, and abandoned their  _ child. _ Whether he remembers or not, something in Seokmin’s head is stopping him from giving his all to a person. It took him four years to open up. They were even warned by our caretakers that his trauma might make him very childish in the future. Does Wonwoo want him to be happy? Of course, but does he want Seokmin to run the risk of getting hurt? No.

“Just follow your heart.” Wonwoo says simply.

“Is it my mind or my heart?” Seokmin doesn’t seem to expect an answer. Wonwoo can’t give him one anyway.

9:14, and the house is filled with the sound of sizzling bacon and eggs. 9:15, Wonwoo is eating right as the food gets plated. 9:17, he’s kicked out. 9:21, breakfast is served. Everyone is gathered except for Seungcheol and Soonyoung. For some reason, everyone else acts like the two don’t even exist, and Wonwoo wonders if he’s being dramatic, still being hung up on it. 

But everyone else should think more about it. Seungcheol and Soonyoung were always people who cheered everyone on no matter what. They helped everyone get through their ‘captive’ years when they couldn’t even go outside. Suddenly, they just leave? Haven’t they promised numerous times to stay together? Are they somehow above the rest of them? It’s all off to Wonwoo, and he can’t stop thinking about it.

Hopefully, his appointment would help him push that aside. He leaves after chilling for almost an hour. He’s going to see Dr. Jin Sungho, the town’s local warlock. How ironic that his name meant ‘illusion’ in the language of the ancients. The doctor is a huge mystery to everyone that lives in this town, but Wonwoo knows that he’s a nice guy who answers all questions directed toward him. Actually, most people have never even seen him. They all think him to be some crazy, old man. He’s actually a year older than Seungcheol and only a little bit crazy.

Wonwoo knocks on his door, and it swings open almost instantly. Dr. Sungho looks excited to see him. “Wonwoo, good, you’re here. I did some research into that ‘wallflower’ think you texted me about. It actually means ‘a shy person’ in the rest of the world, but it’s meaning here is a bit different.” The doctor ushers Wonwoo inside, where he’s put into an armchair. “Apparently, around a thousand years ago, wallflowers were used as a symbol of friendship between nobility in this country. If you were sent a bouquet of wallflowers by a neighboring lord, he would’ve been asking to be allies. 

“Later on though, around two hundred years later, the meaning slowly changed to something stronger. If you sent a wallflower to a lord, you’re pledging your allegiance to him no matter how stupid he’s being. So the meaning was changed to, yeah, faithfulness in adversity. The rest of the world doesn’t see it like us though.” Dr. Sungho finishes his explanation and takes a breath. 

“I only asked you to find the meaning, hyung. You didn’t have to research everything.” Wonwoo chuckles.

“You know me, Wonwoo. I can’t stop myself. Especially when it’s you who’s asking. How’ve you been? Heard things are real hectic for you guys.” He says.

“It’s been rough. Who told you?”

“Seungcheol and Soonyoung stopped by during their little, ahem, cool down time.” Wonwoo studies the doctor’s face. He doesn’t look like he’s telling any sort of truth. His mind quickly puts it together and he sighs.

“You’ve been watching.” Wonwoo deadpans, knowing of the existence of the doctor’s water mirror that he can use to track and person’s whereabouts, as well as watch their actions and listen to their speech.

“Of course I have. For Mr. Hong Jisoo to come personally and ask for a favor, why that’s some news.” Dr. Sungho replies quickly. 

“Did you actually find them?” Wonwoo asks. The doctor, as welcoming as he is, isn’t always on the best terms with Jisoo, because of their beliefs and morals. Jisoo condones the use of magic and says it’s against nature and God’s law that we should be able to control the forces of nature. Dr. Sungho is far more comfortable using it than not. Whenever those two are together, their voices are so thick with dryness that most people would suffocate.

Dr. Sungho scoffs. “Do you doubt me? I did. I gave them their space though. It’s what you would’ve wanted.”

“And I’m grateful for it. Thank you, hyung.” Wonwoo reaches his hand out for him to shake, and he slaps the palm heartily.

“Anytime, Wonwoo. Now, what was it that you wanted to ask me about?”

~~~

By the time they’re done, the sun is beginning to set. It’s 7:30 and Wonwoo finally gets up to leave. “Thank you so much, hyung. Sorry for taking up so much of your time.” Dr. Sungho claps his back and pulls Wonwoo in for a quick hug.

“You know I never mind you coming over, Wonwoo. My door is always open for you and the rest of the project. Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” He asks. Wonwoo does want to stay, but the constant vibrations of his phone tell him otherwise. 

“Sorry, but they want me home.” Wonwoo replies sadly.

“Alright,” Dr. Sungho lets Wonwoo’s hand leave his. “Take care.” He leaves with the doctor waving constantly at him.

Home isn’t far away, and as Wonwoo walks up, he sees Seungcheol grinding cigarette butts into the ground. It’d been a while since he has seen that, but hopefully Seungcheol isn’t drinking too. Otherwise, no one could get him to stop.

Wonwoo approaches slowly as Seungcheol lights another cigarette. “Hyung, what’s up? I thought you were trying to quit,” His hyung looks up at him, first in irritation then his gaze softens.

“I am. But just one or two doesn’t hurt. It’s been wild recently, you know? I thought I should relieve some stress, plus I still have a lot of cigarette packs. Can’t let them go to waste.” He smiles at the sky, melancholy coating his face. Smoke comes out of his mouth in a huge cloud as Seungcheol exhales. Wonwoo takes a seat on the ground next to him. They stare in silence for two more smokes before Seungcheol speaks.

“You should go inside. They’re probably waiting for you.” He says, but Wonwoo keeps his position.

“I only go if you do too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Wonwoo. It’s you they want. I’m just gonna stay out here for a while.” Another puff goes into the air, as well as Seungcheol’s hope of quitting. Everyone knows he’s far too fond of those white rolls of tobacco. 

“Well, you can be my plus one to dinner. Let’s go.” Wonwoo stands up and grabs Seungcheol’s wrist before he can put a new cigarette in his mouth. Wonwoo may be almost three inches taller than Seungcheol, but his hyung works out, and Wonwoo finds that he can’t drag the older inside.

“Come on, Seungcheol hyung.” Wonwoo tugs, and finally Seungcheol gives in, following Wonwoo inside. 

As they pass Chan and Seokmin, the younger two wrinkle their noses. “Oh, Seungcheol hyung, have you been smoking?” Chan asks, pulling out a small bottle of fragrance as if he already knew the answer.

“Whoops.” Seungcheol says sheepishly as he takes the bottle to mask the tar smell.

“At least we caught you before you went past Jeonghan hyung or Jisoo hyung. You know they seriously hate it when you smoke.” Seokmin remarks. He isn’t exaggerating either. The both of them hate it so much because Seungcheol is destroying his lungs, and there’s also the danger of second-hand smoking. Wonwoo isn’t the biggest fan of it either.

“Well, thankfully, you guys got to me first.” Seungcheol holds the bottle out for Chan to take back.

“Yeah, thankfully.” Chan scoffs.

“Now you’re masked, let’s go eat.” Seokmin, without waiting, walks toward the dining room.

The first thing that happens was Jeonghan being able to smell past the fragrance. He sighs, but then ruffles Seungcheol’s hair in affection. The second thing that happens is dinner. Just a week before, their dinners were loud and chaotic, but now the silence has become a regular occurence. 

Afterwards, no one even bothers leaving the table, wanting to know what Seungcheol and Soonyoung had agreed on. Everyone knows that Seungcheol had left to keep Soonyoung safe and didn’t actually want to leave them. They probably had come to a compromise and came back. And with the dirty dishes and silverware on the table, Seungcheol clears his throat and begins.

“Let me start by saying sorry. We disappeared without any notice and no mention of where we were going or when we would be back. It’s a stressful time for all of us, but somehow we thought we above the rules, and then we left. It was extremely stupid. I don’t expect it to be let off the hook, and we shouldn’t be, because in the future, without strict rules, we’ll scramble around like ants. You can’t let us off because then what’s to stop others from doing it? I’m sorry, and I’m sure Soonyoung is too.

“This isn’t to say that we were without a reason. On Tuesday, I’m sure we all felt something whether it was anger or sympathy. Some people went too far, and yeah, I was one of them. Some of us lost our cool and overreacted. Others didn’t care enough about the impact this had on the group and simply did whatever. That’s not okay, neither of those things are good, so we need to work on control. Some people more than others, me and Soonyoung included.” Jeonghan hunches down guiltily, along with Soonyoung and Seungkwan. Seungcheol continues.

“You guys know I seriously care about you all. Sometimes I do stupid things because I think I’m doing it for your sake. You all have probably done the same thing, but you know, on like, a smaller scale. I’m not saying that wanting to do something for the group is a bad thing. It’s just asking for advice from everyone should be the first thing you. If you’re impulsive and do something before knowing what the best thing to do is, then it will probably end badly. So if at all possible, I’d like to avoid that, and I’ll try my best to avoid it too. Let’s just fix our communication, and maybe we’ll improve our current state. No one else wants to continue having quiet dinners and awkward interaction in the hallway, right? It’s a simple thing, and I’d like to work on it too.

“You guys might be thinking, ‘Oh, hyung, aren’t we too far gone to try and fix it?’. Let me tell you now, we will never be too far gone. How long has it been since all of us came? It’s been almost 20 years, guys. How many conflicts have we gotten through without so much as a scratch on our relations? Why should this be the first? I get it, we just moved and learned that we’re going to be alone. It’s scary isn’t it? Being left so suddenly? Everyone does stupid things when they’re scared. Their emotions go wild, self-control is out the window. Don’t you hate it? The chaos, the stress, the disorder? It sucks, right? But why should we use that as an excuse? For 19 years, we’ve pushed through everything that was thrown at us. How did we do it? By staying calm and together. I don’t know if you guys remember our motto from back then, but I do. ‘Staying together and tame will let us win every game’. Honestly it would do us good to start actually following it, no matter how cheesy and lame it is.

“Anyway, my point is, I’m sorry. Let’s just fix how we do things, okay?” Seungcheol finishes. Everyone is silent, but Wonwoo knows that at least one person wants to say ‘Why didn’t you save yourself the breath and say that ending statement from the beginning?’. But no one says it. Finally, Jisoo breaks the silence.

“That’s that, isn’t it? Let’s keep our promise this time.” He puts his hand in the center of the table, and the rest of them do the same.

~~~

Before Wonwoo has the chance to go upstairs to shower, Seokmin stops him. 

“Wonwoo hyung, about Yuna, could you just keep that on the low for now? I don’t wanna spread the word and then disappoint everyone if it ends up not working out.” He’s looking around nervously, like someone is listening. Wonwoo sighs.

“Didn’t we get in this mess because of keeping secrets? I don’t think it’s a good idea to do it again.”

“Please, hyung.” Seokmin pleads, his doe eyes staring straight into Wonwoo’s soul, and Wonwoo’s resistance crumbles.

“God, okay!” In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea.

~~~

Months pass, and suddenly it’s August. Wonwoo is finally 22, and some others have had their birthdays. Seungcheol’s is coming up soon.

Another thing that is more important is that Seokmin and Yuna are now dating, have been since April. Wonwoo wouldn’t care, but the only problem is that lately Seokmin has been skipping a lot of the preparation meetings for Seungcheol’s birthday, who is turning 23 this year.

Actually, it’s been getting worse. There are some times where no one sees him at all. At one point, Jeonghan had wanted to set a curfew, but since Jisoo said as long as Seokmin was working, it should be fine, the official curfew was never set in place. Jisoo admits to sounding selfish, but according to him, he’s just trying to the group’s collective wellbeing in mind. That doesn’t stop him from doing something on his own though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	7. 7. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua has a very fun day out on the town.

When Jisoo was a year old, he was brought to this country to take part in Project SVT. He was introduced first to Jeonghan, who was a loud, selfish, whiny child, and for weeks, they were kept separate from everyone else, only having each other. Later, he was told it was an attempt to mellow Jeonghan out. It worked.

Two years later, their last member came, Seokmin. Jisoo pitied him, all of them did. But Jeonghan?

Jeonghan threw his everything into trying to fix Seokmin. He would be with Seokmin when the younger woke up, ate, slept, every moment of the day, leaving no time for the other eleven people of the project, including Jisoo himself. As a three year old, of course Jisoo was annoyed. He associated Seokmin with the loss of his best friend, and he hated that kid.

Almost six months later, Jisoo was brought to the staff. They hooked him up to a bunch of machines and let him watch some security footage. It was all of Seokmin and Jeonghan. After half an hour, they let him go. The next day, they did the same thing, but beforehand, they gave him a tiny, chalky green pill. This continued for a week, each day’s pill being different sizes and colors. By the end of it, he didn’t feel any anger when he saw Seokmin and Jeonghan interact. From then on, whenever someone needed help with anger management, they had to take a pink capsule almost a half inch long. 

The testing stopped, and finally Jeonghan stopped sticking to Seokmin like a leech. He went back to being Jisoo’s best friend. Although he had Jeonghan back, it took him years to stop mentally calling Seokmin ‘Mr. Best Friend Stealer’.

While they’re preparing for Seungcheol’s birthday, nearly 20 years later, he starts getting suspicious of Seokmin.

Jisoo brings in a package that came that morning. Jeonghan comes to take it.

“Where’s Seokmin?” He asks.

“Beats me.” Jeonghan tries to lift the box, but gives up quickly, since it’s too heavy. He gestures to the table so Jisoo can put it down. The table creaks in time with Jeonghan’s sigh.

“Gone, gone again. I’m so sick of it. Tomorrow, I want you to do me a favor.” Jisoo slices open the packaging tape then looks up.

“Alright, what is it?”

“I want you to follow him. See what he’s doing.”

“Okay.” Jisoo says without a second thought. Before he can take out the things in the package, Jeonghan is hugging him from behind. Displeasure is radiating off of the brunet in waves. Jisoo reaches up to wrap his arm around Jeonghan’s head. 

“Jisoo?” Jisoo hums in response. “Don’t you start keeping secrets from me too.” Then he turns around to look at Jeonghan, whose eyes are glazed over with an emotion that Jisoo can’t put into words, but one prevails over the rest. 

Fear.

Jisoo takes his hand and cups his own face in it, leaning into it. “I would never. Leave it to me.”

~~~

“I’m going.” Seokmin announces, opening the door to leave. Jeonghan nods to Jisoo, and as soon as Seokmin is outside, his shoes are on. 

“Thank you, Soo!” Jeonghan calls.

“Imagine what he’d be saying if I refused to do it.” Jisoo mutters, and then he’s off.

He doesn’t follow Seokmin closely, but he always makes sure that Seokmin is in his line of sight. Although Jisoo does almost lose him when the older stops to take a picture of the creek that runs underneath the pathway. As he hurries along, he smiles in satisfaction as he looks at the picture.  _ Aesthetic. _

It’s only after a few minutes after that that Jisoo realizes he’s in the residential area. It doesn’t really click with him that Seokmin is seeing someone until a girl opens the door to the house that Seokmin had just knocked on. Even though the pair is far away, Jisoo is able to lip-read their conversation.

“Morning, Yuna.” Seokmin greets cheerfully. Jisoo vaguely recognizes that name, but can’t remember where he’s heard it before.

She rubs her eyes sleepily, still being dressed in her pajamas and hair in a messy bun. “Hi, Seokmin. Isn’t it a little, um, early?”

“I wanted to get out as soon as possible, in case I was caught before leaving.”

“Why would you have to worry about getting caught if you’ve told them already?”  _ Wait, that’s not right. He didn’t tell us,  _ Jisoo thinks. 

“I did, but sometimes they don’t like me going out this often.”

“Interesting.” Yuna looks directly at Jisoo, and he tries to duck back behind the tree trunk, but she already saw him.  _ Shit. _ “Are you sure you weren’t followed?”

“Nah, the boys are the type to confront me directly if they have a problem.” It hurts Jisoo a little bit to know that Seokmin trusts them to tell him their worries outright. Obviously, that’s not what Jisoo and Jeonghan are doing right now.  _ He didn’t trust us enough to tell us that he was seeing someone,  _ Jisoo reasons with himself.  _ Even Hansol and Minghao told us when they started dating. _

“If you’re sure. Alright, I’ll change and we’ll go somewhere.” She says skeptically, turning around to go inside. Seokmin plants himself on the front step to wait. Now is as good a time as any to ask Wonwoo what relation this lady has to Seokmin. Jisoo texts him quickly and he replies just as fast, and Jisoo kicks himself for not remembering.  _ That’s Wonwoo and Seokmin’s boss.  _ Jisoo hopes that he was going to work and getting paid overtime. But that hope is short-lived after he sees Seokmin kiss Yuna’s cheek and take her hand in his.  _ Oh, boy. Jeonghan is not going to be happy. _

~~~

Jisoo continues to follow them all day throughout town. Yuna knows that he’s there, but she’s nice enough to not call him out. One time, when the pair are at lunch, she fakes getting a phone call and comes to talk to him. 

She walks out pretending to talk on her phone, to a ‘Yerin’, right to where Jisoo is chilling on the sidewalk. As soon as she’s out of Seokmin’s line of sight, Yuna takes down her phone and turns to him. 

“Who are you? Why are you following Seokmin? Should I call the police?”

Jisoo cut in before she could start dialling the number. “No, no, please don’t do that! I’m not a suspicious person, I swear!” Yuna raises an eyebrow, obviously not believing him.

“Then why have you been following us all day? Is there a problem? Who are you?” Jisoo decides there’s no choice but to tell her the truth. 

“I’m Jisoo. I’m Seokmin’s older Project member. Lately, he’s been disappearing without telling us where he’s going or what he’s doing. So as per  _ my  _ older member’s request, I’ve been following him to find out what he’s doing. Then I saw you and figured it’d be worth continuing to follow him.”

Yuna’s face darkens. “He… didn’t tell you?”

“Nope.”

“He said he would in April. I thought you knew all this time. I… should talk to him about it.” She turns to head inside.

“Please don’t tell him I’m here. That I’ve been following you guys. He’d get really mad. That’s not something I’d like to deal with.” Jisoo pleads, and Yuna gives him a reserved nod. “Thank you. Another thing?” She looks at him suspiciously. “Please take care of Seokmin.” Yuna smiles timidly and then heads back inside. For some reason, Jisoo feels uneasy.

~~~

As much as Jisoo would’ve liked to go home, another thing comes up that Jeonghan needs him to do.

“I don’t get why  _ I  _ have to do it. Why don’t  _ you _ ?” Jisoo asks over the phone.

“I told you, I have to go to work. I’m covering your shift so you can do stuff for me. Could you just do it? I swear I won’t ask anything else of you.” Jeonghan begs, and even over the line, Jisoo can hear the chaos going on at home.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Jeonghan cheers. “You owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye, thanks!” Then he hangs up immediately. Jisoo looks at his phone in mild disgust and annoyance, then sighs. He knows that choosing to refuse Jeonghan would be more trouble than it’s worth, so he sets off to do this errand for him. 

As soon as Wonwoo is free, he would always go to Dr. Sungho’s house. He says where he’s going, and unlike Seokmin, he never shirks his duties, but Jeonghan is still worried. The thing with Seungkwan back in March has given him a bit of anxiety accompanied with a lot of paranoia. He has to know where and what everyone is doing at all times. So Jisoo is assigned to check on Wonwoo.

He hates going to Dr. Sungho’s house. He’s not exactly the most fond of the doctor himself either. Magic, mental and physical manipulation, exerting control over nature itself, it’s just not what Jisoo believes in. He thinks that things exist in perfect balance and that nothing should ever change that. Dr. Sungho, on the other hand, is all for tipping that scale. They never see eye to eye. And here Jisoo is, at his door, disturbing whatever the hell Wonwoo is doing.

For a while, he just stands on the front step, debating on whether he prefers Jeonghan’s anger or Dr. Sungho’s freak show more. He chooses the freak show.

But as soon as he’s about to knock, Wonwoo’s voice starts coming close to the door.  _ Oh, shoot,  _ he thinks as he dives into the bushes. The door opens, revealing Wonwoo and Dr. Sungho.

“I guess I’ll see you later then. Tomorrow?” Dr. Sungho asks.

“Probably.” Wonwoo shakes the doctor’s hand. “Bye, Doctor.” Dr. Sungho smiles at Wonwoo before shutting the door.

Before he gets off the yard, Wonwoo stops. “Jisoo hyung.”

Jisoo tries to act cool, but that’s hard considering the fact that he’s coming out of a bush. “Hi.”

“Jeonghan put you up to this?” He asks, probably already knowing the answer.

“How’d you know I was here?” Jisoo suspects that he’d say he felt Jisoo’s ‘aura’ or something, but he’s wrong.

“I heard the bushes rustle, and I saw you in the corner of my eye. What, did you expect me to say magic?”

“Kinda.” They walk home in silence until they get to the driveway.

“I’m sorry, Wonwoo. It’s not that I don’t trust you. Jeonghan’s just a bit--”

“Weird? On edge? It’s fine, hyung. I’m not holding it against either of you. Don’t worry about it.” Wonwoo hits Jisoo’s back in an attempt to cheer him up.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t care.” But something makes Jisoo feel like he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	8. 8. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Seungcheol's birthday, Jeonghan decides to have a calm, civilized talk with Seokmin.

“You know, I’ve been alive for almost 23 years. This year has been by far, the absolute worse.” Jeonghan says, head slamming on the table.

“You’ll be fine, old man. After all, you always have Seungcheol hyung on your side and Jisoo hyung on the side of logic.” Mingyu tries to comfort him.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to ruin Seungcheol’s birthday. And having the voice of reason doesn’t do anything.”

“Well, the voice of reason is telling you to relax and let it go until the celebration is over. Even you should be able to hold on to your temper for a week or so.” Jisoo walks in carrying a tea tray. He sets cups down in front of Mingyu and Jeonghan, who looks at Jisoo expectantly.

“It’s in there.” That prompts Jeonghan to start drinking the tea like a madman. “The point is to drink it slowly. Quit it.”

“Listen, I know that you just want the best for us, but you need to, maybe, let it slide.” Mingyu says as he takes a sip of the tea. He has to stop himself from wrinkling his nose.  _ Too bitter. _

“I didn’t ‘let it slide’ for Seungkwan. Why should I for Seokmin?” Jeonghan shoots at Mingyu.

“He means well. But take a week to cool down and face it calmly. The way you are now, it would just end up like it did in March.” Jisoo says coolly.

“Yeah, I get it. One week. Not hard, right?”

~~~

Seungcheol’s birthday is next Monday, and it went as smoothly as something put together by them could go. They had been getting financial aid from the government, so Jeonghan had proclaimed that they could splurge for today, and they certainly needed all the money they could get. Thirteen young men with an appetite like a truck sucks up a lot of money, but they ate well.

The next day is uneventful until dinner. Jeonghan had been calm for the week, but Jisoo said that he was probably just biding his time, practicing the way he would confront Seokmin. They both expect a loud shouting competition, so it comes as a surprise when Jeonghan is calm and doesn’t raise his voice even once. 

They had just finished eating, and before Seokmin has the chance to go to his room, he’s stopped. 

“Could I talk to you?” Jeonghan asks, and without waiting for an answer, he walks into the family room. Seokmin obediently follows Jeonghan, and Jisoo, Wonwoo, and Mingyu trail behind, wanting to see how it plays out. 

Jeonghan waited until everyone is seated before talking. “I know you’ve been here for the past week, but I do have questions concerning where you’ve been going before then. Do you want to answer them?”

“Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice.”

“You don’t.” Jeonghan says bluntly. “Where were you disappearing to, Seokmin?”

“Don’t you already know?” Usually, if Jeonghan is talked back to, he starts to get angry. For some odd reason though, his voice remains neutral and his voice doesn’t increase in neither volume nor hostility.

“I have some idea. But I’d like to hear it straight from you. Don’t keep me waiting.” For some reason, Jeonghan’s calmness is the most terrifying thing that Mingyu had ever witnessed. If it affects Seokmin, he doesn’t show it at all. He just keeps on with his defense.

“Yeah, I’ve been seeing someone. What’s so wrong with that?”

Jeonghan’s eyes almost go to a death stare, but he stops himself. “No, there isn’t. I’m happy for you. Trust me, I really am. But I would’ve liked for you to tell me before I found out on my own. I’m happy, but I’m sad. Sad that you didn’t trust us enough to tell us upfront. Have I done something wrong, Seokmin?” He asks, hurt shining through the mask Jeonghan put on. 

“No, no, you haven’t done anything wrong!” Seokmin is obviously flustered by the question, and his tough act comes tumbling apart as he tries to comfort Jeonghan.

“Then tell me,” Jeonghan looks straight into the brunette’s eyes, “why did you do it?” Seokmin gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing his throat, and Jeonghan laughs a confused, sorrowful laugh. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. Ever since I found out, I stayed up all night trying to understand. All these thoughts just swirl around my mind. What did I do? How do I approach this? Why is no one talking to me? Am I not enough? Should I just leave it alone? Or should I at least ask about it? Am I trying too hard or not enough? And all day, all night, it’s just suffocating. So tell me, answer one of these questions. Why did you do it?” Jeonghan is now on the verge of tears, and Mingyu curses himself for not realizing how much Jeonghan was suffering. 

Jisoo nudges his dongsaengs. “Let’s leave. Give them some space.” Mingyu and Wonwoo nod lifelessly, following Jisoo out. In front of the stairs, Jisoo grabs the two’s shoulders, and he shakes them out of their trance. “Listen to me. Listen to me, Wonwoo, look at me. Don't act on your own. Let me and Seungcheol take care of Jeonghan, okay? Try and get some sleep, okay? Everything’ll be fine.” Jisoo doesn’t seem sure of what he’s saying, but Mingyu decides to trust his hyung. After all, Jisoo can do everything. 

But even when Mingyu repeats that thought constantly, his mind is still holding onto his worry and guilt. It doesn’t help when Wonwoo leaves his arms to do whatever. All Mingyu can do is lie awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering how he had been so oblivious to Jeonghan’s suffering. FInally, after a few hours, he decides enough is enough. Getting out of bed, Mingyu heads to Jisoo’s room, but after seeing Jisoo and Seungcheol sandwiching Jeonghan, all three sound asleep, he closes the door and heads back to his room. Wonwoo’s spot on the bed is still empty. Against his better judgement, Mingyu leaves the comfort of the bed and goes to look for Wonwoo. 

Mingyu knows that Wonwoo is probably going to act tonight, and he knows about that stupid dream creating thing that Wonwoo has been obsessed with. He loves Wonwoo, and would do practically anything for that man. But imprisoning his family in a fake reality crosses the line. Mingyu has to talk Wonwoo out of it, or else there’s going to be trouble. Of course, first he has to find his roommate, and that’s going to be difficult. Although Wonwoo is on the taller side, he has no shortage of hiding places, and Mingyu doesn’t know how much space he needs to start the ritual. So he picks up the pace.

When Mingyu finally locates Wonwoo, he almost laughs at his roommate’s chosen hiding place.  _ Of course he’s on the garage roof.  _ “Hey, Wonwoo, whatcha doing?”

“You already know.” Wonwoo spits, sounding like a trapped cat. “You’re not going to talk me out of this.”

“I know I’m not. But even I know that if you’re awake during the ritual, then you’ll have full awareness. By the looks of it, you’ve already started and I’m standing here, wide awake.” The circle around Wonwoo starts glowing, and Mingyu’s nerves are shot with a sense of ‘I’m failing’. “You don’t have to do this. Just mess up that circle and come down.”

Wonwoo laughs. “It’s too late, Mingyu. Don’t you feel the fatigue settling in? Better get inside before you pass out on the driveway.” He says as he hops off of the roof onto the ground. Then as if nothing happened, the smug bastard walks into the house. Mingyu has to restrain himself from punching Wonwoo’s lights out. 

But once his eyelids start drooping, Mingyu rushes inside. As he sways on his feet, a pair of arms helps him to the couch. A blanket is placed over him, and he sees Wonwoo. He can’t even form words, but Wonwoo speaks. “I know you’ll hate me for this. I’m sorry. It was the only way. I couldn’t wait around for Jisoo hyung to fix it.”

As much as Mingyu wants to tell Wonwoo to shove a fist up his ass, he can’t even keep his eyes open anymore. The world is swallowed in darkness and Mingyu only knows that he failed.

“Good night. Sweet dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	9. 9. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day.

Mingyu falls under quicker than Wonwoo expects, and soon enough, he’s the only one not submerged in a simulation. He laughs upon looking at Mingyu’s face, realizing exactly what the younger wanted to say.

“Sorry, Mingyu, I’m not going to stick a fist up my ass.” Wonwoo monologues. He looks a bit longer at Mingyu.

Then he realizes.

Without Mingyu, he’s incredibly lonely.

But thanks to this, Mingyu definitely hates him. Hell, Wonwoo hates himself. He hates that he let it come to this. He’s tempted to stab himself through the stomach, but if he does, the others will be stuck in a collapsing dream without an exit. Their minds will be destroyed.

And there’s no way Wonwoo would let that happen. But if he just lets them out, they won’t learn. That’s why Wonwoo did this. So they could learn how to stay together in a crisis.  _ It’s just for practice,  _ he reminds himself.  _ No matter what Dr. Sungho says, I won’t become crazy with power,  _ he tells himself, wishing to show Dr. Sungho that he can keep his head. 

So to prove it, he goes into the dream himself. But it’s mostly because he wants to see Mingyu.

~~~

“Wonwoo. Up and at ‘em.” Wonwoo wakes up right where he fell asleep, on the couch next to where Mingyu should be. He stares straight into pitch black eyes that suck him halfway into the void, but he looks away before that happens.

“Good morning, Seungcheol hyung.” Wonwoo looks around for the others, but the room is empty. “What’s up?”

“Take a walk with me. Something feels off about this place, but I can’t figure out what it is.” And Wonwoo feels it too now. The strangeness doesn’t strike confusion like it does for Seungcheol, but it gives Wonwoo a somewhat twisted joy. The joy of success. 

Wonwoo follows Seungcheol outside and feels incredibly proud. Every little detail is exactly the same as in the real world, not even missing the single dandelion five steps away from the driveway. He may hate himself, but for the moment, Wonwoo’s joy overcomes all of that.  _ I did it.  _

Seungcheol is oblivious to his trembling dongsaeng as he surveys the landscape. “It… looks the same. I swear there’s something setting alarms off in my head. Jisoo, Jeonghan, everyone else feels it too. I guess we’re all going insane. It’s the lack of sleep.” He concludes, and Wonwoo doesn’t overlook the last sentence.

“Lack of sleep? I thought you were sleeping last night.”

“Sort of. I had to keep proving to myself that Jeonghan and Jisoo were still there. I don’t think Jisoo ever actually fell asleep.” Seungcheol reveals, and Wonwoo wonders why he ever thought this would go smoothly.  _ Just another loose end, I can fix this,  _ he thinks, but he’s honestly not too certain.

~~~

Soon enough, everyone is trying to find the source of why everything is strange, but Wonwoo knows they won’t be able to. Chan is seated next to him on the couch, staring blankly at the black screen of the TV. For a moment, Wonwoo is tempted to change the color of the wall, just to mess with the maknae, but decides against it. Too early to begin using his power like this. Especially in this situation, where Chan is too confused, too scared. It’s a bad idea.

Even then, something in Wonwoo’s head is telling him to run amok. Use all the things he’s been taught and terrorize.  _ Have some fun while you’re here. You’re a god aren’t you?  _ Wonwoo tries in vain to get this voice to shut the hell up, and it keeps talking. Now, on top of wanting to stab himself, he wants to blow his brains out. But where’s the lesson in that? For now, he’s just going to put himself through what Jeonghan has been going through. It’s a punishment he deserves for not helping his hyung earlier. Jisoo said that he was going to fix it, but he couldn’t really do anything in the end.

Suddenly, someone takes his hand, and Wonwoo’s train of thought is brought to an abrupt stop. “-woo hyung. Wonwoo hyung. Are you okay?” Wonwoo looks over at a worried Chan.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You just looked really out of it. Also, Mingyu hyung is calling you outside. You should go to him.” Now Wonwoo hears Mingyu’s voice.

“Ah, right. Thanks, Chan.” Wonwoo gets up to go the Mingyu, but before he leaves, he ruffles Chan’s hair to calm the younger. “Everything is going to be fine, okay?”

Chan tries to smile bravely. “Of course it’ll be fine. You and the hyungs are going to fix whatever’s wrong.” Wonwoo has to stop himself from wincing because of guilt. Chan’s blind trust weighs heavily on his mind as he makes his way outside to meet Mingyu.

The younger is sitting on the front step, staring into space. The door shuts behind Wonwoo, but the Mingyu doesn’t turn to face his hyung. So Wonwoo just takes a seat next to Mingyu. 

After a while of silence, Mingyu finally speaks. “Are you back to normal now? Can I talk to you?” Wonwoo is confused and lets Mingyu know it.

“Sorry? Come again?”

“Are you willing to talk to me without that stupid shit-eating grin on your face? Can you make rational decisions?” Mingyu doesn’t raise his voice, but he doesn’t have to for Wonwoo to know that he’s angry and hurt. Otherwise, he’d be speaking like he normally does, cheerful and bright. But the way it is, Mingyu still won’t even turn his head in Wonwoo’s direction.

“I would hope I can.”

“Can I ask for you to send us back?” Mingyu says without hesitation.

“You know I can’t do that, Mingyu.”

“Why not? Can you not actually, like you don’t know how, or do you just not want to?” Wonwoo stays quiet. “Can you at least tell me why?”

Wonwoo really doesn’t want to answer, but his stupid mouth is producing noise before he can stop it. “No matter what I say, you’ll still hate me.” Mingyu scoffs.

“That doesn’t mean I want everyone else to suffer because of something you did. I’m not going to let you off, hyung, but I would like to know why you did this, so I can protect our members, and even you..”

“Why should I tell you if you’ll still hate me?”

Without looking over still, Mingyu takes Wonwoo’s hand and pouts it in his lap, stroking it softly. “I don’t think I could ever bring myself to actually hate you. You’re confused, and I don’t blame you at all. I want to help you, if you’ll let me.”

“Can’t you look at me when saying that?” Mingyu drops Wonwoo’s hand back on the ground and wipes his eyes.

“I'm sorry.” He says in a shaky voice, heartbreak radiating through every word.

“No, I'm sorry, Mingyu,” Wonwoo stands up. “You should work on yourself before focusing on others.” And with that, Wonwoo goes back inside.

~~~

Wonwoo expects to be more guilty after he leaves Mingyu on the front steps, but for some reason, he barely feels it. It makes him want to die even more. Maybe he should apologize, explain it all? But Mingyu definitely doesn’t want to even breathe in Wonwoo’s general direction. How Wonwoo is going to fix this, he doesn’t know, but he knows that letting everyone out is still not an option. He’s come too far to fail like that.

All Wonwoo has to do is remember what Dr. Sungho has been teaching him. Ways to calm his mind, ways to help get rid of the guilt and loneliness. He doesn’t think they’ll work though. Wonwoo just wants to talk to his mentor. He knows there is a way, but it’s only one-time use.

He sits in bed, debating on whether he should use the chance or not. His fidgety fingers start unravelling a loose thread on his blanket without his knowledge, and by the time he notices, there’s an enormous pile of thread where it used to be. Without hesitation, Wonwoo fixes it by turning back time for the blanket. 

“You know what? Fuck it.” He says to himself. Then Wonwoo stops moving and his mind goes blank. His vision blacks out, and when he can see again, the doctor is standing in front of him.

“Wonwoo! Nice to see you!” Dr. Sungho immediately pulls Wonwoo into a tight hug.

“Hi, doctor.” Wonwoo squeaks. The doctor releases him and laughs.

“Not going to lie, I wasn’t expecting you to use the chance so early on. Is something wrong?”

When Wonwoo leans into Dr. Sungho’s shoulder, the older stops laughing. “Ah, Mingyu hates me, I think Seungcheol hyung and Jisoo hyung were awake during the ritual, and I made Mingyu cry. What’s worse is that I don’t feel guilty about it. I only feel guilty because I don’t feel guilty. You know what I’m saying?” Wonwoo rambles. 

“Of course I know,” Dr. Sungho says, rubbing Wonwoo’s head tenderly. “But you need to forget about all that. If you can’t keep yourself together, then the dream will fall apart. Mingyu just doesn’t know how much you’re doing to them. He’ll come to appreciate it. I’m sure. You’re a good kid, Wonwoo, and everything that you’ve learned has come up to this point. You need to know what you’re going to do. 

“Now, I need you to listen to me. Just for a second, push all of that aside.” Dr. Sungho’s tone turns urgent. “You’re not master level at this yet, so this is understandable. But your friends can escape from the dream if they acquire three objects, or artifacts as the magicians call it. I don’t know what they are, but two of them will show the truth of the dream, and the last one will wake them up if they touch it. Typically, the artifact that wakes them is a type of flower, so watch out for those. You’ll know what type of flower once you see it, but the first two are completely random. Be careful, be safe, keep your head clear. You have to go. My consciousness is starting to reject you.”

“What? I don’t-” Wonwoo feels something barring him from staying any longer.

“Bye, Wonwoo. Good luck. I’ll see you once practice is over.” With that, something shoves Wonwoo out so hard that his body jerks him back awake into the real world. After sitting there dazed, Wonwoo realizes that not even an hour had passed in the real world, even though ten had passed in the dream.

Wonwoo then goes through what Dr. Sungho just told him.  _ Artifacts, huh? This’ll be interesting.  _ Then he goes back into the dream with another motive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	10. 10. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu's griping leads to a lot of things - but Joshua couldn't care less.

It’s been two days since the strange feeling started, and frankly, Jisoo is kind of fed up with Mingyu’s constant blabbering. Always the same thing too. ‘Wonwoo is responsible! He created a dream and put us all in it!’ gets repetitive after the first ten times. But still, Jisoo can’t help but find himself agreeing more with the younger’s claims each time. It may sound far fetched, but all the things that Mingyu says sound completely possible, considering Wonwoo's obsession with dreams and magic. Finally, he decides to act.

“I’m telling you, hyung, you know something’s been off about him recently! He’s guilty and you know it!” Mingyu tells Jeonghan, the older not looking away from his phone.

“Guilty could also mean he ate Seungcheol’s pudding. Seungcheol doesn’t even like pudding, but it’s more believable than what you’re deluding yourself into. Get a hold of yourself, Mingyu.” Mingyu wilts, but that doesn’t stop him from turning to Jisoo in desperation.

“Jisoo hyung, you believe me, right?”

Jisoo taps his finger against his chin. “Maybe if you brought me some evidence, I might believe it.” Seeing Mingyu’s face light with hope brings Jisoo so much joy, but he still doesn’t want to say the truth just yet.

“Really? You would? I’ll get right on it then!” Then Mingyu jumps up and leaves, running to get the evidence.

After the dining room door slams shut, Jeonghan slams his phone on the table. “Don’t tell me you’re seriously buying into this. It’s ridiculous. Wonwoo vanishes for a few minutes and suddenly he’s a so-called ‘criminal’? It’s stupid, and you shouldn’t play along just because you feel it.”

“I’m not just ‘playing along’. The boy has a point. Open your eyes, Jeonghan.” Jisoo says calmly.

“My eyes are open, and they’re seeing you being fucking stupid.”

“If you don’t believe him,” Jisoo stands up to leave, “then that’s your choice. But don’t be mad at me for believing in something you don’t.”

~~~

Jisoo’s first objective is to tell Mingyu the truth, because that boy will go to stupid lengths to get the evidence he needs, and Jisoo really doesn’t feel like putting him in danger. His second objective is to get some real sleep. For the past few nights, he had constantly been half-asleep, waking up at every trivial little thing, just so he can tell himself that Jeonghan is safe. His eyelids feel like lead and he can barely pick up his feet, but he forces himself to go find Mingyu.

When Jisoo finds Mingyu, the younger is considerably surprised. “Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep? You look like death. How did you find me?”

Jisoo chuckles. “I think you’re the one who needs sleep, Mingyu. You’re in your room. That’s how I found you.” Mingyu, at this revelation, looks around and realizes that, yes, this actually is his room.

“Maybe you’re right; I should sleep.” Mingyu wistfully gazes at his bed, but his stare becomes hard again as he sees Wonwoo’s bed. “No, I’m here to get you your evidence. No getting sidetracked.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier once your head is cleared? Take a damn nap, Mingyu.” Jisoo commands, but Mingyu shakes his head furiously.

“I finally have someone who is willing to believe me. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to expose Wonwoo.” 

Although Jisoo doesn’t completely understand the sudden, complete animosity towards Mingyu’s former best friend, he doesn’t want to ask or pry. He just wants to complete his goal and then try to sleep. At least, that’s what he wants. But seeing Mingyu’s anxious face makes him want to give his dongsaeng an outlet. Mingyu’s well-being comes before his sleep.

Jisoo pushes Mingyu to sit on his bed and then he takes a seat next to the younger. Despite Mingyu being four inches taller and far more muscular, Jisoo tries his best to wrap his arms around him. Mingyu’s previously tense body relaxes, and Jisoo rubs his shoulder.

“You wanna tell me exactly what happened between you and Wonwoo? You don’t have to if you don’t want.” The taller shrinks and nestles himself into Jisoo’s chest as much as he physically can. His breath heats up Jisoo’s chest as they sit in silence, the chaos of Chan and Seungkwan in the family room serving as background noise. 

If the circumstances were different, Jisoo would’ve wanted Mingyu to stay in his chest forever. Mingyu rarely let his negative emotions show, and even more rarely he let Jisoo or anyone else comfort him. This is a once in a lifetime event, and as pleased as Jisoo is, he really hates knowing that Mingyu is in pain. He doesn’t even know why and all Jisoo can do is wait for an explanation that Mingyu doesn’t seem keen on giving. The slight trembles coming from Mingyu’s body hurt more than being shot. Jisoo wishes he could do more.

After the umpteenth minute, he realizes that he can help, and Jisoo clears his throat, making Mingyu look up towards him. “For what it’s worth, I do believe you. About the dream, about Wonwoo.” Mingyu pulls away in shock, black eyes wide in shock. 

“You do?”

“I do. Ever since--” While Jisoo tries to explain himself, Mingyu interrupts.

“But you said you needed evidence! If you believed it, then you couldn’t helped me convince the others! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, I’m gonna be honest with you, Mingyu, no one else is ever going to believe it. They were all asleep. Luckily for you, I wasn’t. Or at least I wasn’t deep asleep. I believe you, Mingyu, but the rest of them probably will never, so you should just give up on trying to tell them.” Jisoo bluntly says.

“But…” Mingyu tries to justify the pointless campaign, but like Jisoo said, they can’t believe because they’re asleep. He shuts his mouth and the two are left in silence again.

Not wanting to sit through another agonizing ten minutes, Jisoo asks, “What are you going to do now? You have me, but you’ll never have them, and we’re against this reality’s, ahem,  _ god _ . We don’t stand a chance improvising.” Then again, they don’t stand a chance with a plan either, but Jisoo has to keep Mingyu’s spirits relatively high and hopeful. But Mingyu doesn’t seem to have a strategy anyway, and ducks his head in shame.

“I was thinking, er,  _ hoping _ that I would manage to convince Seungcheol hyung or Jihoon hyung so they could come up with a plan, but what with the facts you just laid out, we’re on our own. Didn’t exactly work out the way I wanted it to.” Mingyu admonishes, and Jisoo almost sighs.

Instead, he replies as calmly as possible, trying to keep all fear out of his voice. “If Dr. Sungho was brought into the dream, then he might help us. That’s a huge ‘if’ and an even bigger ‘might’.” Jisoo suggests, although he’s terrified and disgusted at the idea of going to the heretic who started it all for help. In fact, he’s probably enjoying watching the group’s suffering. The monster preys on young innocents like Wonwoo to spread misery throughout the town. It’s revolting, but it might be their only chance.

“Whatever. If we have even the tiniest of opportunities, we have to take it.” Mingyu says. “We’ll go after a nap.” He leans back and stretches out, his tall and broad body covering most of the conjoined beds. Jisoo lays down too, cause right about now, a nap sounds pretty damn good. But he realizes something he forgot.

“Oh, by the way, you never answered me.” Mingyu hums in question. “What exactly happened between you and Wonwoo?” Mingyu stays silent, and Jisoo sighs.

“For another time then.” And then he drifts off into a restless sleep.

~~~

Jisoo wakes up feeling no more rested than he had been before taking the nap. Upon realizing that Mingyu is no longer next to him, he fumbles with his phone to check the time, and finds that it’s been four hours since he fell asleep. A note on the bed catches his eye, and the phone is abandoned in favor of reading whatever was on the piece of paper. Jisoo instantly recognizes Mingyu’s messy handwriting. 

The note reads ‘I’m going to Dr. Sungho’s house alone. You don’t like him anyway so I’m saving you. Also, if you come by Wonwoo, act like you don’t believe me. It might save you’ and Jisoo inwardly scoffs at the last line.  _ Save me from what? Is Wonwoo going to kill me if I believe Mingyu? Bull.  _ After all, he’s one of Wonwoo’s favorite hyungs, right? But Jisoo is still uneasy. Wonwoo  _ has  _ changed a lot recently. Maybe he’s not safe?

As he’s worrying about that, Jisoo doesn’t see Wonwoo standing at the door until the younger knocks on the already open door. Jisoo’s head snaps up as Wonwoo smiles. “Hi, hyung. Have you seen Mingyu? He’s not responding to my calls.”  _ I wonder why. Not like he thinks you’re a psychopath or anything.  _

“I don’t know.” Jisoo lies as he grabs the note and hides it under his thigh. Wonwoo notices it and his playful smile turns darker. 

“What’s that, Jisoo hyung? Something important?” When Jisoo refuses to dignify that with an answer, Wonwoo enters the room and flops onto his desk chair. At Jisoo’s incredulous look, he laughs. “This  _ is  _ my room. I shouldn’t need a reason to be in here. Although I do want to talk to you.” Jisoo shoots him another look.

“What about?” He asks slowly. Wonwoo laughs again and his wide grin looks innocent, too innocent.

Suddenly his face hardens, all joy gone. “You believe Mingyu?” It’s more of a statement than a question.

“No.” Jisoo is just about to say ‘yes’, but he remembers that Mingyu had told him to stay quiet. The murder behind Wonwoo’s eyes makes him a little scared, even though he tells himself that he’s being stupid-- it’s just Wonwoo. But Wonwoo looks like he’s taking no bullshit.

“Jisoo hyung, this is my universe. I know  _ everything _ .” Jisoo tries to keep his face calm but he can’t help it. He’s being threatened-- effectively-- by his dongsaeng who has probably never lifted a weight in his life. “Also, Jeonghan hyung told me about it in today’s griping session.”  _ Traitor,  _ Jisoo thinks angrily.

“You’re probably mad at him--”

“Damn right I am.”

“--but honestly you should be thanking him. He begged me to take it easy on you, so I won’t do anything too bad. If you remember this conversation, then thank him.” Wonwoo gets up from the chair. Jisoo decides being alive is better than being dead, so he abandons all pride and shrieks, loudly.

Wonwoo stops his advance momentarily in disgust. “Shut up, hyung. I just said I wasn’t going to kill you. Where’s your dignity? No one will hear you anyway; I put up a sound barrier.” Jisoo stops screeching like a five-year-old.

“As intrigued as I am about what you’re going to do to me, I rather value my memory.” He tries to leave the bed, but Wonwoo is on top of him too quickly, pinning Jisoo’s wrists down on both sides.

“You don’t get a choice. In respect to Jeonghan hyung, you get to live, but not until after I wipe your memory.” Wonwoo’s soft, deep voice shows no malice as Jisoo’s world is enveloped in a bright white. Too tired to fight back, he falls in.

~~~

“God, wake up, Jisoo hyung.” Jisoo hears Mingyu as he slams open the door. “Dr. Sungho isn’t here.”

“I didn’t know you went to see him.”

Mingyu laughs in confusion. “You were the one who suggested we go see if he’s here, hyung.”

“Why would I ever want anything to do with that man?” Jisoo asks, completely baffled. Dr. Sungho? What on earth is Mingyu on?

“To help us fight against Wonwoo?” Mingyu sounds just as confused as Jisoo himself.

“Wonwoo hyung to you. Anyway, why would we go against him? He’s done nothing wrong.” With each word Mingyu says, Jisoo finds himself more and more puzzled. What is Mingyu talking about?

“What are you saying? Why wouldn’t we be fighting against him? He trapped all of us inside a dream, hyung!” Mingyu’s eyes start panicking, but Jisoo still can’t understand what he’s saying.

“Even if he had enough magic skill to do that, I’m sure he wouldn’t. Wonwoo’s a good person, Mingyu. Where are these baseless accusations coming from?” Jisoo is genuinely interested in these delusions. How did Mingyu even come up with this?

Mingyu’s emotional chaos calms down as he looks deep into Jisoo’s eyes. “He got to you while I was out, didn’t he.” Mingyu states this with so much conviction that Jisoo is almost convinced that it’s the truth. But it’s not.

“Nobody ‘got to me’ while you were out. What in the world is wrong with you, Mingyu?” Jisoo laughs, but Mingyu’s face says that this is everything except for a joke. “I’m sorry, Mingyu, but I really have no clue what you’re talking about.”

The 21-year-old’s face collapses in on itself, and it looks as if the boy had aged fifty years in fifty seconds.

“It’s okay, hyung. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll go away now.” And he does, leaving Jisoo to wonder what in the hell just happened, and why there is a blank void in his memory. Is Mingyu delusional or not? And why does he have an urge to thank Jeonghan?

~~~

Days pass. Everyone settles in, including Jisoo, but Mingyu always seems to be on edge. When Jisoo tries asking him what’s wrong, the younger just ignores him, and he has no clue as to why. He can’t shake the feeling that Mingyu needs help, but with no openings in Mingyu’s defensive wall, he can’t do anything except wait. Whatever Jisoo forgot, it’s clearly important.

Aside from Mingyu, however, everyone else has brushed aside the feeling of being in a new place. Whatever they thought before is tossed into the abyss. Jisoo, who still feels uncomfortable, decides to not pay any attention to his own feelings for the sake of everyone else who is completely happy and at home. No matter what he thinks, this must be home, because everyone else thinks so, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	11. 11. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They move.

Mingyu used to never feel vulnerable. He had height, thick hair, defined eyebrows, muscles, a bright smile, and a winning personality. Not to mention he has 12 brothers to worry over him. Nothing can bring him down. At least, that’s what he thought.

Until a few days ago, Mingyu was untouchable. Absolutely high on the drug of love. But that changed so quickly. Wonwoo changed so quickly. All the times that Wonwoo had clung to him during a nightmare turned into Wonwoo creating the nightmare himself. Mingyu had always thought that they were closer than family. Mingyu had always thought that Wonwoo trusted him with all his worries. Mingyu had always thought that Wonwoo wasn’t crazy enough to do something like this. Mingyu had always thought that Wonwoo would love him forever, and he would love Wonwoo forever.

Mingyu had always thought wrong.

Now with all the things that are happening, Mingyu knows he can’t let stupid things like romance get in his way. His objective is to get the members awake, and no feelings are going to get in his way, no sir. He’s going to forget Wonwoo, even if it kills him. One love versus 11 brothers is an easy choice, and even if Jisoo can’t help, Mingyu is going to get all of them out. Wonwoo is just a distraction. 

A very beautiful one, Mingyu admits as the moonlight surrounds Wonwoo’s head like a halo. If the circumstances were any different, Mingyu might’ve kissed him right there on the spot. Instead, he laughs coldly, getting Wonwoo’s attention, previously focused on the town. “It seems like you really like the garage roof, Wonwoo-sshi.” Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows.

“I do. Nice change of honorifics. Makes me feel loved.” He turns back to the town after studying Mingyu’s face. 

“You’re not.” Mingyu states.

“But of course. Is there something you need?”

“Restore Jisoo hyung’s memories, or let us out.” Mingyu says, forcing as much hate as he can into his voice. _ If Wonwoo thinks that I hate him, then maybe he’ll let us out,  _ Mingyu thinks, but he knows that it’s not going to do anything.

Wonwoo sighs. “You always have such crazy requests. It’s also really cute how you think you can threaten me. I’m a god, remember?” In order to demonstrate, Wonwoo lets himself float into the air. “I could kill you just as easily as I can breathe. But I won’t, lucky you.” Mingyu thinks that Wonwoo killing him would be a mercy at this point. He wouldn’t have to deal with these feelings in his heart that refuse to go away.

“Let us out.” Mingyu growls, but he doesn’t really expect anything.

“I don’t think I will, Mingyu-yah. The only thing I’m willing to do is let you rule by my side.” If only Mingyu can spit that far into the air.

“Fuck you, I’ll do it myself.” Internally, Mingyu is really thankful for these kind of conversations with Wonwoo. It makes hating the older so much easier. It’ll be much less painful when Mingyu eventually has to make Wonwoo set them free.

Ah, who’s he kidding? As muscular as Mingyu is, he doesn’t stand a chance against this reality’s  _ god _ . Dr. Sungho was their only chance of any help, but he’s not in the damn dream. Mingyu is against a god with nothing but his own wit.

And it’s not like he would ever hurt Wonwoo. Even if someone is holding a gun to his head, Mingyu could never bring himself to do it.

His bed is as welcoming as always, but he finds his note to Jisoo underneath the sheets. Mingyu recognizes Wonwoo’s writing on it. Squinting through the darkness, he’s able to make out the words ‘Nice try’ beneath his own words telling Jisoo to act innocent, and Mingyu realizes that he failed to protect the only person who believed in him.

Before he can stop it, a tear trickles down Mingyu’s cheek. But he stops it immediately. “If I have time to cry, I have time to strategize.” He tells himself. “No time to be feeling sorry for yourself. Feel sorry for those you couldn’t save.” That guilt fuels Mingyu to stay up all night, trying to come up with a plan. No matter what he comes up with, though, all of it is shut down by the simple fact that whatever Wonwoo can think he can do.

The clock dings as it hits 8 in the morning, and Mingyu, having gotten less than four hours of sleep in the past eight days, giggles. “Whoops, it’s 8. And I’m still as useless as ever~” He sings, far too tired to think about how stupid this all is.

The door opens to reveal Seokmin, face crumpled in confusion. At least, Mingyu thinks it’s confusion. He doesn’t really know anymore. He falls off his bed and looks at Seokmin, smirking. “What’s good, Seokminnie?” Mingyu says, shooting finger guns at the very baffled young man in the doorway.

“Whatever the hell you’re on.” Seokmin enters the room.  _ Is his voice deeper than usual? _ Mingyu wonders, but doesn’t give it a second thought. Takes up too much energy to doubt.

“You wanna know what I’m on?” Seokmin helps Mingyu sit up and looks expectant for the answer. Very giggly, Mingyu whispers, “Four hours of sleep.” This makes him burst into laughter, heaving until his cheeks hurt. He doesn’t even know why he finds it so funny. It’s so stupid. Why is he laughing?

“What the fuck.” Seokmin mumbles. “Mingyu, get back into bed right now. I’ve already helped Jisoo hyung sleep, I can help you too.”

Mingyu throws his arms around Seokmin, who smells exactly like Wonwoo, but he’s too loopy to care. “Gotta carry me, Seokminnie.” Seokmin grunts with effort as he brings Mingyu back up to the bed.

“I really thought you were with the others. If I had known that you were still on L1, I would’ve saved some energy. I wasted it all on Jisoo hyung. It took a lot of power to hold him down.” Seokmin’s eyes widen, but Mingyu has no clue as to why. Did he say something wrong? Seokmin looks down at Mingyu and smiles. “You’re too tired to put up a fight though. This makes it a lot easier.”

Now that triggers something in Mingyu’s head, even though he’s hazy with the lack of sleep. “A fight against what?”

Seokmin shushes him, tucking him in. “It’s nothing, Mingyu-yah. Just go to sleep.” His hand closes Mingyu’s eyes, and Mingyu lets himself be lulled to sleep. After all, why should he fight something so soothing?

~~~

Mingyu wakes up feeling something that he hasn’t felt in months. Rested. Whatever Seokmin did worked wonders.

But now that Mingyu is able to think properly, he sees that that wasn’t Seokmin. The low voice, the coffee scent, the extremely slim yet muscular torso. Mingyu kicks himself mentally and slaps himself physically.

_ Wonwoo. _

That was Wonwoo, and Mingyu didn’t even realize it. All the red lights now show themselves to Mingyu. ‘Still on L1’, ‘A lot of power to hold him’, ‘Makes it a lot easier’? Holy shit.

Mingyu scrambles out of bed, thinking  _ What the fuck is L1? Where am I now?  _ and all the rest he had gotten goes down the drain. The curtains are thrown aside in his frenzy and he gasps, eyes widening at the sight in front of him. The sky boasts a bright magenta and the town has disappeared from sight. A wide river stretches out in front of him, right beneath the window. Any buildings are across it, and Mingyu can’t stop the boiling feeling inside of him.

“ _ What the fuck is this? _ ” A hiss escapes his mouth as he checks the time. 10 P.M. “ _ Why in the hell is the sun still up? _ ”

A voice at the doorway requires Mingyu’s attention as they clear their throat. He whips around to see who he had mistaken for Seokmin. “What is this, Wonwoo?”

“You like it? Took me a few minutes.” Wonwoo smiles, too innocent for a psychotic lunatic.

“Where are we?” Mingyu barks.

“Welcome to L2, or level 2.” Wonwoo comes in and gestures out the window like he had just opened the best restaurant in the world. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That means you’re falling deeper and deeper into the dream. It gets harder to leave with each level. So whatever plan you had is useless. Good luck~” Then Wonwoo vanishes. In his place, a piece of paper flutters to the ground. Mingyu, angry but curious, picks it up. It’s a damn travel brochure. 

He flips through, and finds out that apparently in this level, the need for sleep is reduced to five hours a night, daylight hours are from six in the morning to eleven P.M., and the time ratio of dream hours to real hours is slowed to 24:1. Mingyu can’t help but be impressed, even though he knows he shouldn’t. At the end, Wonwoo’s handwriting says ‘Enjoy your stay, Mingyu. I’ve taken the liberty of giving you the best view in the house. Good luck~’. The brochure is almost ripped to shreds because of the ending, but instead, it’s tossed into a desk drawer for future reference.

Now, Mingyu doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t want to go to sleep in case Wonwoo does something again, but there’s nothing he can do if he’s awake. So he decides to explore with the hour of daylight he has left. He throws on a pair of jeans and black tee and heads downstairs. 

There’s the sound of the television and talking coming from the family room, and Mingyu pokes his head in to see who’s in there. Soonyoung’s hair is the only thing that Mingyu can see, but Jihoon’s distinct silvery voice is heard too. After a few seconds, Mingyu can hear Seungcheol’s low one as well. They’re talking about Mingyu.

“He just suddenly stopped talking about it. He was so persistent, and then he shut up.” Soonyoung says. 

“Coincidentally, he stopped the day Jisoo hyung told Jeonghan hyung that the bean pole had a point. But I asked Jisoo hyung about it the day after, and he said he doesn’t remember saying anything like that. He doesn’t even remember what Mingyu was saying.” Jihoon adds. “Seungcheol hyung, what do you think?”

“What do I think? Well, I have two very different thoughts. The first one is that Jeonghan was bullshitting us when he told us about Jisoo. It doesn’t explain why Jisoo doesn’t remember anything. The other thought, you two aren’t gonna like.”

“It can’t be that bad. After all, Mingyu was thinking that Wonwoo is a magic using maniac.” Jihoon says, and Soonyoung’s head moves up and down in a nod.

“That’s just it,” Seungcheol confesses. “That’s what I’m thinking.” Although Mingyu can’t see them, he’s sure Jihoon and Soonyoung’s mouths just dropped. “Well, maybe not the maniac part, but the magic part, I’m willing to believe that.”” He quickly clarifies, but that means nothing to his dongsaengs.

“Waitwaitwait, you actually think that Mingyu isn’t a complete lunatic?” Soonyoung gets off the couch and Mingyu takes that as his cue to leave. Getting caught eavesdropping causes more trouble than he’s willing to deal with right now. Withdrawing from his spot against the threshold, the front door offers a chance of escaping.

He’s so anxious to see what L2 is like that when he takes a step outside, he doesn’t notice the river until his foot is submerged. As soon as he realizes that there’s no land outside the door, Mingyu quickly turns back, soaking sneaker and all. Past the family room he tries to sneak quietly, but unfortunately, he gets caught.

“Mingyu, is that you?” Seungcheol’s voice cuts through the open air, freezing Mingyu like a deer in headlights. He forces a smile and waves awkwardly.

“Hi, hyungs.”

Jihoon stands up to stare. “Why is your foot so wet?” He asks.

“I tried to go outside.” Mingyu’s face reddens.

“Why would you do that? You know the water comes up at 7.” Soonyoung says, arm around the back of the couch as he cranes his neck to look at the dripping mess known as Mingyu’s right foot.

“The water comes up at 7?” Mingyu echoes, and Jihoon and Soonyoung lock eyes warily as Seungcheol smiles, though it looks more like a grimace.

“Yeah, it comes to our door at 7 and then goes back down until the sun rises. Are you feeling okay?” The eldest walks to the doorway to check on an increasingly nervous Mingyu,

“I think so.” The younger steps back, away from the suspecting eyes looking at him. “I’m gonna go back to my room.”

“Don’t leave water everywhere.” Jihoon calls out as Mingyu heads upstairs.

Once he’s in his room, Mingyu tosses his shoe onto the vent and throws his sock into the laundry basket. Then he pulls open the desk drawer where the brochure is and begins to read once again. The part about the tides is in the weather section that Mingyu had skipped over the first time. Not wanting to miss anything else, the words pour into his mind as he wonders how Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Seungcheol already know everything about this place. Wonwoo wouldn’t give them a brochure, right? It would reveal too much about the truth. No longer paying attention to the glossy paper in his hands, Mingyu things about how they know.

A sharp knock brings Mingyu back to reality. “Mingyu, are you okay?” As he scrambles off the bed to open the door, Mingyu throws the brochure back into the desk drawer and slams it shut.

“Seungcheol hyung, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.” Mingyu reassures.

“You sure? You looked really lost just then. Did you lose your memory like Jisoo? I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.” Seungcheol places a hand on Mingyu’s shoulder, squeezing gently. 

“I didn’t.” Mingyu desperately wants to talk to Seungcheol about what he heard in the family room, but it might put him in danger like Jisoo. So he asks a more innocent question that won’t paint a target on his hyung. “How do you know everything about this place?”

“We’ve been living here for 20 years, Mingyu. How do I not know everything about this place? Seungcheol’s gum blooms but there’s a sadness behind it. “Did you really lose your memories?”

“I didn’t!” Mingyu exclaims, and Seungcheol’s smile vanishes. Mingyu regrets yelling as he repeats it quieter. “I didn’t.”

“Then are you sick?” Seungcheol moves his hand to Mingyu’s forehead.

“I’m not sick.” Mingyu swats his hand away, and Seungcheol steps back, frowning.

“Then what’s going on? And don’t give me that ‘I don’t want to worry you’ bullshit. Tell me honestly, Mingyu. Don’t push me away--” Mingyu cuts him off by hugging his hyung, who’s reasonably surprised. Seungcheol reaches around to rub Mingyu’s back. “Talk to me. I’m willing to listen to whatever. Is it Wonwoo?” The taller hums affirmatively. “I’m here for you, for anything and everything.”

Mingyu pulls away. “I overheard you, Soonyoung hyung, and Jihoon hyung in the family room.” Seungcheol’s eyes soften. “Do you really believe me?”

“Well, a far-fetched as it sounds, you do have a point. Obviously, I don’t know about the ‘raging lunatic’ part, but--”

“You can’t believe me. Or at least you can’t publicly say it.” Mingyu knows that it’s probably too late for Seungcheol, but it doesn’t hurt to warn him anyway.

“Pardon?” Seungcheol raises his eyebrows.

“Listen, hyung. This already happened to Jisoo hyung. He said out loud that I wasn’t crazy, and then as soon as I left him alone, Wonwoo erased his memories. I can’t have that happen to you too. So just forget about all this. Please, hyung.” Mingyu equips his puppy eyes, and the older begins to crumble.

“But if you’re in trouble, then I want to help.”

Mingyu has already made his decision. “It’s better for one person to be in danger than two. I’m begging you, Seungcheollie hyung, just forget about it.” He can clearly see the exact moment Seungcheol caves in.

“Fine. But the moment it gets too much, you tell me, okay?” Mingyu nods, and Seungcheol turns to leave. But then he turns around and wraps Mingyu in the tightest hug he’s ever experienced. “I love you so much, Mingyu. Don’t you ever forget that.” With that, Seungcheol is gone, leaving behind a very breathless Mingyu.

“I won’t.” It’s a fitting response to both things Seungcheol said. He loves his brothers, that’s why Mingyu is no longer going to drag them into this fight between him and Wonwoo. He’s going to win whether he has the members with him or not.

“Do you really believe you can beat me alone?” A deep voice says from behind him. “You of all people should know better.

“Gotta stay positive somehow.” Mingyu replies. “No point in always worrying.”

“A good mindset, but it’s a waste.” Wonwoo saunters up to the younger.

“Shut your mouth, Wonwoo.” Mingyu turns to face Wonwoo. He’s known the older for 20 years but always will be shocked by his beauty, even if every inch of Mingyu wants to murder him.

“That’s very rude.” Wonwoo answers with a mocking smile.

“I don’t care. What do you want?” Mingyu narrows his eyes but the grin still stays on Wonwoo’s face. 

“Do I need a reason to want to visit my favorite--”

“What do you want?”

Wonwoo straightens his face. “I want a lot of things. But most of all, I want you to stop exposing me.”

“I haven’t said anything about that since you wiped Jisoo hyung.” Mingyu deadpans, not caring about Wonwoo’s unmasked annoyance. “If you’re talking about what I just told Seungcheol hyung, that was because I figured it was too late for him.”

“That’s true. I was planning it as soon as I heard him saying it. Anyway, there’s no point in telling you what I want, cause you’ll just do the exact opposite.”

“Damn right. Fuck whatever you want.”

“And what if I want you? Would you fuck yourself?” Wonwoo’s expression doesn’t change at all, and perhaps that scares Mingyu more than anything. 

“Better me than you. Are you here to wipe me?” Mingyu manages to keep a straight face.

“Maybe.”

Mingyu suddenly gets a thought. “Can you read minds?”

“No.”

“Can you see everything that’s happening as it happens?”

“No. I just have good hearing. Why do you ask?” Wonwoo asks.  _ Perfect. _

“No reason.” Mingyu collapses on the bed. He knows the wipe probably won’t work on him. According to his observations on Jisoo, it only erases memories made in the dream, but Mingyu already knew the truth before he was sucked in. He’s safe. 

“You’re not going to fight back?” Wonwoo surveys the larger man, skeptical at his submissiveness.

“No point.” Mingyu says simply. And there really is none. He’d lose trying to fight a god.

“Makes it a lot easier on me. I appreciate it.” A bright white fills Mingyu’s vision before everything turns to black, trapping him. Something probes through his mind, poking and tugging, but nothing happens.  _ I think I’m supposed to be unconscious. _

Mingyu knows for sure something is wrong when he realizes he can hear Wonwoo leave the room. His eyes flutter open and he sits up on the bed. Every single one of his memories remain untouched.

Mingyu finally allows himself to speak after a few minutes. “What the hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than usual, I was having a bad episode.
> 
> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	12. 12. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first artifact appears, and Wonwoo has to keep them from finding the truth.

Dr. Sungho had said Wonwoo would get a feeling when the artifacts appeared, so for the past few days, he’s just been lazing around. Mingyu turned Jisoo, so Wonwoo had to wipe both of them and Seungcheol. Before he erased Mingyu’s memories, he created L2 just to make it harder for Mingyu to get everyone out. There’s no other reason for L2 to exist. Wonwoo hasn’t been busy though. Doing things like this is as simple as blinking.

So he’s completely energized when he feels the first artifact. Creating the water mirror was the second thing that Dr. Sungho taught him, and Wonwoo pulls it up with ease. He expects the artifact to be in some abandoned field, alone and easy to retrieve. So when Wonwoo sees it in Jeonghan’s hands, he becomes a bit flustered. Immediately, he teleports to the location, but it's too late, and his hyung has already been shown the truth. 

In the way that Dr. Sungho taught Wonwoo, a dream can be played like a video game, in a sense. You can save and you can exit or restart. But lagging and glitching are also possible, and Wonwoo can do anything at will. He sneezes and the dream, for a split second, collapses. It sends Jeonghan back to the house with little to no memory of what just happened, and it brings the artifact straight to Wonwoo’s hand.

He breathes a sigh of relief. “That was close.” The teleportation probably made Jeonghan nauseous to the point that he would faint, but that’s not important at the moment-- he can always deal with that later. What is important is the artifact that Wonwoo is holding in his hands right now. It’s a ship in a clear glass bottle. It seems innocent, but it’s too risky to keep in his room. Mingyu is far too suspicious.

Maybe he’ll just ask someone to keep it in their room. Seokmin? Too curious. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo? They’ll just tell Wonwoo to take care of his own stuff. Jun and Minghao? Their room is always open to the general public. Soonyoung and Jihoon? Suspicious. Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan? The maknae line should be trustworthy enough. More than the others anyway. Settling on that, he teleports himself back to the house. 

Wonwoo is met with the sight of Jeonghan being nursed by Jisoo in the middle of the hallway. Jisoo is trying to wake the older up as he lies unconscious when he notices Wonwoo. “Good, Wonwoo, where’d you come from? Put that down, and help me bring Jeonghan to the couch.” Wonwoo moves hesitantly to find a place to leave the artifact. Where is it safe? Is it really safe anywhere in the house?

“Wonwoo!”  _ Alright, fine.  _ Wonwoo places it on the shoe shelf next to the front door, then Jisoo slings one of Jeonghan’s arms over Wonwoo’s shoulder. They stagger to the family room, and when Jeonghan is safely on the couch, Wonwoo runs out immediately to grab the bottle. He comes back into the family room with questions, although he’s fairly certain he knows what took place already. 

“What happened?” He asks his hyung.

“I don’t really know,” Jisoo replies, feeling Jeonghan’s forehead. “I just suddenly heard him calling me and when I got to the hallway, he just collapsed. He looked like he just saw a ghost. I’m pretty sure he almost threw up too.”  _ I knew it.  _ Wonwoo makes a mental note to make sure that he doesn’t teleport anyone to the middle of the hallway. It’s too open there. Maybe throw them in their room? No, the bathroom is better. Makes less of a mess.

“Should I get a bucket?” Wonwoo asks as an empty gesture, and luckily, Jisoo shakes his head.

“I can take care of things from now on. Thanks for the help, Wonwoo.”

“No problem.” Wonwoo dashes upstairs with the bottle. He runs into Hansol as he’s about to knock on the maknae line’s bedroom door.

“Oh, hyung.” Hansol’s eyes shake as he blocks the entrance. “I wouldn’t suggest going in. Seungkwan has a really bad cold right now.” He says.

“I was just going to ask if you guys could take care of something for me.”

“This?” Hansol gestures to the bottle, and Wonwoo nods. “I don’t mind, but I don’t think bringing anything into our room is a good idea. Germs, y’know?” 

“That’s not a problem. I don’t get sick.” Wonwoo quickly insists, and Hansol raises a skeptical brow. Usually, he doesn’t like being this desperate, but getting sick is better than leaving such an important thing with anyone else. 

“Okay…” Hansol reaches out to take the bottle, but Wonwoo jerks it away, before realizing what he just did.

“Sorry, I don’t like when other people touch it.”

Hansol’s confusion shows even more now. “Suit yourself, hyung. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He steps aside, letting Wonwoo in.

“Thank you, Hansollie.” Wonwoo enters and sees Seungkwan absolutely miserable on his bed. He places the bottle on Hansol’s desk and leaves. “Oh, could you tell Seungkwan and Chan to not touch it?” Wonwoo asks Hansol, who nods.

“Okay.” He agrees, drawing out the syllables as he surveys Wonwoo’s expression, obviously suspicious. That gives Wonwoo the idea to place a protection spell on the artifact as a safeguard. No harm in doubt, right?

The next order of business is to see how much Jeonghan remembers. From the balcony, Wonwoo can hear Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo’s hushed voices, and any normal person wouldn't be able to hear them. Luckily, Wonwoo isn’t any person, so he can hear them clearly. 

Wonwoo allows himself to peek into the room beneath him and sees Jeonghan curled up in Jisoo’s arms and speaking tiredly. Jisoo holds onto a cup of water on the armrest while Seungcheol is kneeling in front of the pair trying to listen to Jeonghan’s slurred speech.

“So you did what?” Seungcheol asks. “I really can’t hear you.”

“I went on a walk. Then I saw that thing-- I can’t remember what it was-- and it tried to show me something. I think it was some magic circle on top of what looked like the garage roof. I don’t know. It seemed important. It seemed like a truth that we’ve forgotten.”

“That’s all you saw?” Seungcheol says gently, and Jeonghan nods. “Then we’ll go find it. Tomorrow when the river goes into low tide.”

“Where was it?” Jisoo leans down to look Jeonghan in the eye.

“The building way at the end of Laso. The huge one. That place.”

When Wonwoo first went to the artifact, he didn’t know where he was. But now that he’s aware of the location, it makes things a lot more interesting.  _ Let’s make a background story.  _ So he does in less than a second and broadcasts it out to all of the house’s inhabitants.

“Isn’t that the abandoned mafia place with all the traps?” Seungcheol widens his eyes, unbelieving.  _ Perfect.  _

“That’s the one.” Jeonghan clarifies.

“Great. Jisoo, call Minghao. We need the drone.” Seungcheol commands and Jisoo gets up. “We're gonna need help if we’re going to get this thing.”

~~~

Wonwoo’s afternoon and night are eventful and very, very busy. First, he gets dragged with Hansol and Jihoon to an electronics store that the pair had found a few days earlier. The two’s eyes light up when they step in, although Jihoon tries to hide the fact that he feels like a child in a candy store. They sweep through the store, taking whatever they think might be remotely helpful and putting it in a bag. There’s no other people in this level, so exiting the store with all of the tech is a piece of cake. 

Then, he has to help Jihoon hack into the building’s system. He also installs a camera into Minghao’s drone and hooks that into Jihoon’s new computers. After all that, Seungcheol holds a strategizing meeting. Wonwoo spends the entire meeting spaced out. Whatever plan they have is going to fail anyway. Why should he bother?

The only he does hear is Seungcheol saying, in an exasperated voice, “Fuck it, we’ll just improvise”. Wonwoo feels very happy with that outcome.

Next, when he’s sure that everyone is asleep, Wonwoo goes to set up his contribution to this whole ordeal. He creates a fake artifact, which is a replica of the real one except without the bottle. It doesn’t matter what it looks like though. No one knows what they’re looking for anyway. It’s all cosmetics. 

Something that poses more difficulty is the building wide bomb. It’s already in Jihoon’s computer system if need be, but rigging the actual thing to be powerful enough to hurt but not kill? That’s more of a problem than Wonwoo will ever admit out loud. Magic can create the bomb, but setting it up is entirely his problem. Unless he cancels all of his temporary spells, like the protection spell cast on the artifact. 

Wonwoo is reluctant to cancel the shield, but since he has no clue how to rig a bomb, there’s not much of a choice, is there? Besides, what damage can the maknae line do while the magic is out? Seungkwan is sick beyond belief, Hansol is too busy caring for him, and Chan… Well, Chan is Chan. He wouldn’t disobey an order from Wonwoo, right? It should be safe.

It’s really not, Wonwoo finds out, as halfway through setting the bomb he feels someone touching the artifact.  _ Give me a break.  _ He quickly stops the set up and teleports to the bedroom. 

Chan yelps as he sees Wonwoo appear out of thin air, almost dropping the bottle. Too tired to deal with this, Wonwoo flashes, briefly remembering the sick boy caught as collateral damage. He catches Chan in one hand and the artifact in the other as the younger passes out. After placing Chan on the bed, Wonwoo resumes his work at the alleged ‘mafia base’.

When he finally finishes, the protection spell instantly restores itself, and Wonwoo sighs in relief. He stops himself midway when he remembers that he still has a whole eight floors to fill with traps.  _ Give me a break,  _ Wonwoo thinks as he locks the top six floors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't steal kids~  
> Thanks for reading! It's not the best work ever, but I appreciate comments and kudos <3


	13. 13. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a surprise visit from Mingyu, the members set off to do great things.

At 4 A.M., Jisoo is shaken awake. He groans and turns to look at whoever is disturbing his sleep. Mingyu’s black eyes draw him in before he realizes how irritated he is. 

“What, Mingyu?” Mingyu cuts him off and dumps a stack of papers on Jisoo’s bed. He holds up a piece of paper that says ‘Some light reading. Don’t talk about it out loud if you value your memory’, and then Mingyu leaves.

“What the hell?” Jisoo asks himself as he attempts to read whatever’s written, but it’s still another two hours until sunrise. He climbs out of Jeonghan’s grip, the other groaning at the sudden movement, and goes to turn on the desk light.

On the front paper, there’s the headline ‘What you’ve forgotten’, and Jisoo feels a tiny bit grateful that someone is trying to fill the blank space in his memory. So he starts reading the essay that Mingyu dropped on him.

It’s all super helpful, and as soon as Jisoo has read the first page, his memories start flooding back. He remembers Mingyu’s constant preaching. He remembers suggesting Dr. Sungho’s help. He remembers Wonwoo wiping his memories, and he finally knows why he’s been wanting to thank Jeonghan.

Jisoo still wonders what exactly Wonwoo did for Jeonghan to pass out after suddenly appearing out of thin air. 

~~~

Jisoo is still awake an hour later when Seungcheol wakes up to get everyone else ready for the day ahead. Even when Jeonghan pegs him with a pillow, he absolutely refuses to let anyone sleep in.

By 7, the water has gone down and the members are ready. Jihoon, Seungkwan, and Chan have been told to stay home but they go to see everyone else off. Seungkwan is wrapped in blankets as he coughs. “Be safe. Don’t do anything incredibly stupid.” This last sentence is directed toward Hansol with a playful look.

“We’ll try our best.” Mingyu ruffles his hair.

“I should be going with you.” Jihoon huffs. “Being short can be an advantage.”

“That’s not the reason we’re leaving you, Jihoon. You’re the only one who can use the computers properly.” Jeonghan says and Jihoon pouts, but stops arguing. Seungcheol pulls open the door.

“Good luck, hyungs. Come back in one piece.” Chan waves and interlocks his fingers with Soonyoung. Jisoo feels bad for the youngest. He had lost his memories suddenly during the night and was forced to stay home. But at the same time, he’s thankful that Chan won’t be put in danger. 

“We will.” Soonyoung assures, pulling Chan in for a hug before letting him go. Then they all leave.

The front steps are still wet from the river and so is the pathway that leads across it. The walk there is silent as everyone tries to think good things, not wanting to think about the reality that they’re about into a building that probably has more traps than it has dust particles. Who would ever want to think about the fact that there’s a bigger chance of dying than living?

Personally, Jisoo was shocked that Seungcheol had wanted to do something so dangerous. There are too many risks that came with this mission, and the tiny thing that Jeonghan saw might not be worth losing a member. Does Jisoo know what the thing is? Not exactly, but Mingyu can tell them anything that this thing can. Mingyu telling them has less risk than going to an abandoned mafia base. But it’s not like Jisoo gets a say in the matter. Once Seungcheol said what they’re going to do, that was that, and who is Jisoo to argue?

The path is long and it’s a good 15 minutes before they make it to the town. It’s more of a ghost town than anything. Jisoo has been out here everyday since they were sent to L2, and still has yet to see a single living person. It’s a wonder that no one except Mingyu thinks that it’s weird. At least it’s quiet. Even Seokmin and Soonyoung are uncharacteristically quiet, but that’s perfectly fine with Jisoo.

Well, it is until Wonwoo starts walking next to him. Knowing everything that he does makes it a bit uncomfortable to be with the younger. So it must be God’s love that allows Jun, the mood reader, to be looking around. He makes eye contact with Jisoo and when Wonwoo opens his mouth to talk, Jun is already by Jisoo’s side.

“I saw this really cool flower on the path up ahead. Come take a look, hyung.” Jun pulls Jisoo away from Wonwoo, who looks mildly offended.

As they’re far, far away from Wonwoo, Jisoo quietly sighs in relief. “Thank you, Junnie.” He whispers.

“No problem. Why are we whispering?” Jun asks, voice as low as Jisoo’s.

Jisoo smiles. Jun is too innocent to know the truth. “No reason in particular.” He says, still keeping quiet. He knows Jun probably wants to know why he needed to get away from Wonwoo.

Sure enough, Jun does ask. “What’s wrong with Wonwoo? I thought you liked him? Why did you need to leave?”

“There are some complicated things.” Jun looks at Jisoo expectantly. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Jun shrugs. “Alright. Do you want me to send Minghao over? Cause Jeonghan hyung looks like he needs someone to talk to.”

“That would be great, thanks, Jun.” Jisoo smiles, and Jun goes to get Minghao, who is walking with Mingyu.

Next to Jisoo slides Minghao, having the time of his life in the warm August air. “Hi, hyung. Jun hyung said you didn’t want to walk alone, so here I am.”

Jisoo’s grin spreads. “What about Mingyu?”

“Oh, he’ll be fine. It’s not like it’ll hurt him that I left our conversation about the importance of avocados in life.” Minghao waves at a pouty Mingyu behind him.

“Oh? Avocados? Are you willing to elaborate on that?” Jisoo laughs.

“Yeah, but Mingyu knows more than me. Yo, Mingyu! Come here!” Mingyu happily obliges, eager to educate Jisoo on the green fruit.

~~~

“-- and lastly, they taste amazing.” Mingyu finishes his 20 minute ramble, much to Jisoo’s delight. How does one possess this much knowledge on a single fruit?

“I hate to break it to you, Gyu, but I stopped listening after fact number 22.” Minghao says, and Mingyu fegins hurt.

“You’re weak, Minghao. I listened to everything.” Jisoo says, pride shining through every one of his features. At this Mingyu brightens up while Minghao raises an eyebrow. 

“Really? What was fact 51?” Minghao asks.

“I have no clue.” Jisoo replies without hesitation. 

“Hyung!” Mingyu laughs and whines at the same time.

“I said that I was listening, not that I memorized anything.” Jisoo elbows Mingyu.

“I just wasted 20 minutes of my life for ungrateful people who can’t appreciate my precious green boys.” 

“You’re insane.” Minghao and Jisoo say in sync.

“I just like my fruit.” Mingyu retorts simply.

“We can tell.” Jisoo mumbles.

“Hey, there’s the building.” Minghao points a high building, which is very structurally sound for an abandoned mafia headquarters, Jisoo notes.

“Everyone, put your comms in!” Seungcheol yells. Hansol and Jihoon had swiped a bunch of things from the electronics store yesterday, and comms happened to be one of them.

Jisoo puts his in and turns it on. It crackles to life in his ear and Jihoon’s voice comes through.

“ _ Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? _ ”

“We can hear you, Jihoon.” Seungcheol replies.

“ _ Cool. I’ve already disabled everything that I could. Just check with me before you go into a new hallway. _ ” Monotone voices reply with an unenthusiastic ‘Yes sir’ before Seungcheol gives his next order.

“Thanks, Jihoon.” The boy at home hums in acceptance. “We’re gonna go buddy system, okay? So everyone pair up.” Minghao instinctively reaches out to whoever is closest, which happens to be Jisoo. Jun and Hansol end up together, and so do Seokmin and Mingyu. Jeonghan and Soonyoung sort of levitate toward each other, and Seungcheol smiles at Wonwoo, then barks, “Is everyone ready?” He is met with tired ‘yes’s. It doesn’t deter him though. He just grabs Wonwoo’s hand and turns to enter the building. “Then let’s go!”

~~~

As soon as they step in, Jisoo knows they’re fucked. There’s ten separate hallways and probably even more on the upper floors. He also becomes uneasy when he learns that the only thing Minghao brought is his drone. And then Seungcheol says that they’re going to split up, and Jihoon says that each hallway has traps that he can neither see nor control, and they still have no clue what the hell it is they’re supposed to be looking for.

It’s all incredibly worrying, but Minghao’s bubbly smile keeps Jisoo going down the hallway, drone flying ahead. The others’ voices are constantly going off in his earpiece.

“ _ \-- you’re going to come to a dead end. _ ” Jihoon says.

“ _ I’m not seeing any dead end. I see an empty elevator shaft though. _ ” Seokmin replies, and Mingyu groans.

“ _ That’s the dead end, Seokmin. _ ”

“ _ Jihoon, we’re going into a new hallway. _ ” Seungcheol says. 

“ _ You’re safe.” _

“ _ Does anyone else feel like they’re being watched? _ ”

“ _ That’s Jihoon, idiot. _ ”

“ _ Yeah, that’s me. Hansol, you look like you just discovered the secret to life. _ ” 

“ _ Shit! Jihoon hyung! _ ”

“ _ I thought you had enough brain cells to not walk into a gaping hole in the middle of the hallway. I guess not. _ ”

“ _ You’re so fucking stupid, Mingyu.”  _

“ _ He’s so tall he can’t see the ground. _ ”

“ _ Jealous? _ ”

“ _ Damn right I am. _ ”

“ _ Jisoo hyung, Minghao, watch the next corner. There’s a laser field in there. _ ”

“Thanks, Jihoon.” Jisoo says as the pair turns.

“ _ I’ve already made them all visible, so it’ll be easier. _ ”

“Thanks.” Minghao starts to pilot his drone through the field while Jisoo watches.

“ _ No problem. Jeonghan hyung, Soonyoung, the stairwell is coming up on your left if you want to go up. _ ”

“ _ We’ll go back to another hallway. _ ”

“ _ Sounds good. _ ”

Jisoo looks at Minghao’s controller where there’s a live feed playing from the drone. Minghao maneuvers it with ease. At the end of the hallway, there’s a door.

“ _ \-- I don’t know who you think you are. I am superior to you, Kim Mingyu. _ ”

“Jihoon, do you think you can open the door at the end of our hallway?” Jisoo asks.

“ _There’s a door? I don’t see any on the map._ ” There’s a moment of silence before Jihoon speaks again. “ _Sorry, hyung, you’re on your own._ ”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jisoo says.

“Is it really worth it? It’s just a room.” Minghao brings his drone back as he looks at Jisoo anxiously. “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” He raises his voice so the comm can pick it up.

“ _ I said I was sorry! _ ” Jeonghan’s exasperated voice comes through.

“I’m just kidding, hyung.”

“ _ Actually, give me a sec. I think I can shut off the beams. The lights in that hallway are gonna turn off and while the lasers are gone, check the room. _ ” Jisoo pulls out a flashlight from his bag. “ _ Ready? _ ”

“Ready.” Jisoo flicks the switch, turning the flashlight on, and Minghao shoves his drone in his backpack.

“ _ 3… 2… 1… they’re off. Tell me when you’re done. _ ”

“ _ Jihoon, hall. _ ”

“ _ You’re clear. _ ”

Jisoo and Minghao trek into the darkness until they reach the door. Minghao reaches out for the door knob just as Jisoo notices a rapidly blinking red dot above the threshold.

“Minghao!” Jisoo throws his body on top of Minghao’s as the door explodes and sends them flying. The debris slashes through Jisoo’s shirt, leaving streaks of blood on his back and arms. He doesn’t care though. As soon as he turns around, he sees nothing but a concrete wall behind the door frame, and he forces Minghao onto his feet, grabs the flashlight, throws Minghao’s backpack onto his back, and drags the younger away. Minghao protests until Jisoo gives him the drone bag.

Jisoo pulls Minghao along by the wrist as he runs to the lobby. When they reach it, Jisoo collapses, breathless. 

There are voices going off in his comm, but the ringing overpowers everything, even his own panting. He sees Minghao drop to the ground and abandons his own health to check on the other. There’s blood trickling down his own arm, but it’s ignored so Jisoo can bandage Minghao’s cuts. He can’t hear when Seungcheol and Wonwoo come sprinting towards them. Seungcheol’s lips move.

“Are you hurt?” Jisoo shakes his head. Wonwoo behind and and points at his back, exposing his blatant lie. But he pays it no mind as he finishes treating Minghao. Seungcheol speaks again but Jisoo can’t hear and he doesn’t care enough to read his lips. The eldest repeats himself, and Jisoo pays attention this time.

“Can you hear me?” He asks, and Jisoo shakes his head. “Then how are you communicating with me?” Jisoo makes a gesture to his mouth that Seungcheol hopefully understands as ‘lip-reading’. He nods, knowing the meaning. 

Jeonghan, Sooyoung, Jun, Hansol Mingyu, and Seokmin barrel out of their hallways. There’s too much going on, too many mouths to keep track of, and Jisoo decides that closing his eyes is the way to go.

He recognizes Jeonghan’s hands on him, and he opens his eyes. Jeonghan speaks slowly. “It’s not the best time, but I know what we’re looking for.” Jisoo gives him a half-assed thumbs up. “You have to get up so we can treat you.” Now Jisoo realizes that he’s laying in Seungcheol’s lap. His hearing is back too, and the clock shows that he passed out for a few minutes.

“What is the thing we’re looking for?” Jisoo gets on his feet.

“Later. We have to clean you up.” Seungcheol insists, but Jisoo gestures to his back and arm.

“It’s fine. Look, I’m not bleeding, quit worrying.”

“Do you think you can keep going?” Jun asks from the lobby couch while tending to Minghao. 

“Do I look out of it? I’m continuing. What is it?”

“Jisoo, you don’t have to force your--” Jeonghan is silenced by Jisoo’s sharp galre. He got less than an hour of sleep, then he’s had to walk for almost 45 minutes, and now he almost got blown up. Jisoo is not in the mood. “Okay. It’s a model boat.”

“For real? That’s it?” Jisoo almost laughs.

“Do you have a problem?” Jeonghan raises an eyebrow.

“I was just expecting something impressive and fantastical, you know?”


	14. 14. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search continues.

When the bomb goes off, Mingyu instinctively blames Wonwoo. After all, everything in the dream is his creation. He also knows that Wonwoo is a good actor, meaning that his worry toward Jisoo is all fake. But Mingyu can’t help but notice that Jisoo’s gash in his arm closes a lot quicker than natural. Even if it is part of L2’s perks, there’s no way a cut that deep can heal that quickly. 

Before he can even think about Wonwoo not being a complete ass, he remembers that Wonwoo was the one who set the bomb in the first place.

Mingyu pushes that aside so he can be impressed at the fact that Minghao and Jisoo, who were almost blown up, are continuing with the mission. Dedication. Jihoon also has an insane amount of the stuff. With all the stupid conversations going on, Mingyu probably woudl’ve left the members for dead long ago.

“ _ Jun, which hallway are you going to? _ ”

“ _ The right one. _ ”

“ _ Fuck! _ ” Mingyu hears the scraping of the floor trap as Hansol curses.

“ _ Hansol, you’re an ignorant walnut. Jihoon said check with him before continuing. _ ”

“ _ Be careful, Hansol. We got lucky with Jisoo and Minghao. We don’t need you getting stuck in a pit that Jun probably can’t get you out of-- fuck! _ ” Seungcheol shouts.

“ _ Jihoon? _ ” Wonwoo asks expectantly.

“ _ That wasn’t in the schematics. Must’ve been a hidden one, whatever it was. _ ”

“ _ What it was was an axe almost splitting my skull in half! _ ”

“ _ I warned you that there’d be ones I can’t see. _ ”

“ _ Jihoon, hallway. _ ” Jeonghan says. 

“ _ What floor are you on? _ ”

“ _ 2nd. _ ”

“ _ You’re clear except for the tripwire at the end of the hall. _ ”

“You know, it’s a lot more helpful now that we know what we’re looking for., but I wish everyone would shut up.” Seokmin mumbles next to Mingyu.

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” Mingyu groans as Jihoon shouts at Soonyoung for walking into a new hallway and almost getting shot with a dart.

“Is this thing even worth it? Jisoo hyung and Minghao were almost blown up, Seungcheol hyung was almost decapitated, Hansol almost fell into a pit, and Soonyoung hyung was almost shot with those darts, and we don’t even know what could be on the tips of those things. We’ve been getting really lucky, but how long is our luck going to last? And you walked into a huge hole in the middle of the hall. Wait, that was your fault, nevermind.” Seokmin laughs quietly. 

“Whatever Jeonghan hyung saw makes him want to finish it. We are but lowly foot soldiers, dear Seokmin. We must follow the orders of our leaders.” This earns one of Seokmin’s bright smiles.

“ _ Stop making us out to be tyrants. _ ” Seungcheol whines.

“ _ You kind of are though. _ ” Jihoon says.

“ _ Woah, what? Really? This is news to me. Are we, Hansol? _ ” Seungcheol’s puppy eyes can be heard and Hansol clicks his tongue. 

“ _ Sometimes. _ ” 

“ _ You hear that? Bring out the guillotine, start the revolution! _ ”

“ _ Soonyoung, don’t say that when i’m right next to you! _ ” Jeonghan feigns fear and Soonyoung cackles maniacally. Seokmin joins in, and their laughter fills the building. 

Seokmin and Mingyu open a door and find the stairwell. “Hyung, is this stairwell safe?” Mingyu asks. 

“ _ You’re good. _ ” The pair steps in and narrowly avoids the string at Seokmin’s eye level. Not wanting to test out the trap, they head up the stairs.

“ _ What the fu-- _ ” Jeonghan’s voice is cut off but a scraping that resonates throughout the whole building and sends a shudder down Mingyu’s spine. From farther up the staircase, Mingyu and Seokmin hear a smaller noise and run up to check what it is. They come across a very baffled Jeonghan, who’s sitting on the ground, eyebrows and forehead creased in confusion. He quickly overcomes his mild panic and begins speaking again. 

“Soonyoung, are you okay? Does anyone have a sledgehammer?” He asks, getting up from the ground.

“Hyung? What happened?” Seokmin runs to Jeonghan.

“Ah, Soonyoung was getting out a flashlight and dropped it on the tripwire. A chute opened up and we got seperated. Soonyoung?”

“ _ I’m okay, hyung. I just don’t know where I am. _ ”

“ _ You’re not near any-- oh, wait. Jun and Hansol are close. Soonyoung, stay where you are. Jun, turn left. _ ” Jihoon instructs.

“ _ Oh, yo! _ ” Soonyoung’s excited voice comes through the earpiece.

“ _ Yo! _ ” Hansol replies.

“ _ Alright, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, just stay with them for now. _ ” Seungcheol says.

“ _ Yes, sir. _ ”

“Jeonghan hyung, why’d you want the sledgehammer?” Seokmin asks.

“Break the wall so I can go back up the chute.” Jeonghan replies. “There was a third tunnel.”

“I don’t think you have to go back up for that. Just drop something on the tripwire. That’s what you did last time, right?” Mingyu suggests.

“ _ Yeah, how about we don’t go tumbling down a pitch black tunnel. That sounds like a good idea. _ ” Jisoo says.

“It wasn’t pitch black in the third tunnel. There was a light at the end of it. I wouldn’t have been able to see it otherwise.” Jeonghan retorts. The three have reached the second floor, and Jeonghan opens the stairwell door to exit into the hallway. There’s a huge square in the floor at the end, waiting for something to fall in.

“ _ I’m kind of against the idea too. You never know what could be down there. _ ” Jihoon says worriedly. “ _ I can’t tell what’s down there either. _ ”

“Exactly! If no one checks then how will we know that the boat isn’t there?”

“ _ Where does it even end up, Jihoon? _ ” Seungcheol asks as Seokmin, Jeonghan, and Mingyu peer into the abyss.

“ _ Some room on the first floor, I think. I’m not sure. _ ”

“I’ll go.” Mingyu says suddenly. Why not? It seems like fun. The amount of adrenaline that the chute would give him seems nice. 

“ _ What? _ ” All of his members except for Jeonghan asked incredulously. Jeonghan smiles and takes Mingyu’s hand. Before Seokmin has the chance to stop that, they jump down.

The metal of the chute is cold and smooth against Mingyu’s back. Jeonghan, behind him, shouts, “The one on the right!” Mingyu pushes off the left wall so he can reach the tunnel at the far right. It’s amazing how long the chutes are considering that there’s another floor beneath it all. But he guesses the laws of the world don’t apply to Wonwoo.

The chute dumps him out into a room that’s only lit with glowing inscriptions. Mingyu lands on his feet, but he can’t say the same for Jeonghan, who falls on top of Mingyu in a heap.

“ _ How-- okay-- in there? _ ” Seungcheol’s voice breaks over the comm. There’s more static than voices filtering into Mingyu’s ear. 

“We can’t hear you!” Jeonghan shouts. Mingyu traces his fingers along the wall, floor, and low lying ceiling.

“Hyung, there’s no point. We’re in a huge block of concrete. There’s no signal.” 

Jeonghan takes his earpiece out and pockets it. In the dim lights that are a mixture of soft purples, blues, and greens, it finally sinks in for Mingyu that Jeonghan is breathtakingly beautiful. His sharp cheekbones are hidden by his bangs that had been blown aside in the chute. He has defined brown-blak eyebrows that are complimented perfectly by his pale skin and large eyes, focused only on the carvings on the walls. His lips open and close with each breath, still energized by the adrenaline that the chute had given him. His large hands fiddle with the earpiece as he stands with his hands in the pockets of the jacket that perfectly fits his slim figure.

“Mingyu?” Mingyu realizes that he’s staring too late, and Jeonghan’s alluring brown eyes meet his own. “Everything alright?”

“What did you see? Like, when you touched the ship?” Mingyu asks, looking at the cracks on the wall.

“This,” Jeonghan points to a purple glowing magic circle that Mingyu instantly recognizes as the one Wonwoo used to send them all into the dream. The others, Mingyu has no clue what they are, but they can’t be any good.

“Is that all?”

“Actually,” Jeonghan starts, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“About?” Mingyu turns to his hyung.

“That vision.”

“What happened?”

“I saw you and Wonwoo. Wonwoo was on the garage roof in the middle of that circle. You were trying to get him down. He said go to sleep, and you did. Is that dream thing you were talking about real?”

Mingyu almost shouts ‘It’s about time!’, but decides to pretend he doesn’t remember anything. If Wonwoo found out, then that would be the end of Kim Mingyu. “Sorry, hyung. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jeonghan raises an eyebrow, and Mingyu prays that his acting is convincing. “You don’t know? Even though you were preaching about it so religiously a few days ago?” Mingyu shakes his head.

“I don’t have a clue.” 

“Oh, sorry to bother you then.” Jeonghan’s face drops as he looks away. Mingyu’s heart snaps right in half at hearing the guilt in his hyung’s voice.

“It’s okay” is all Mingyu can get out of his mouth. He traces an inscription underneath a turquoise circle that hums and vibrates. “What do you think these say, hyung?”

“The only one I can read is this one.” Jeonghan points to a light blue circle. Mingyu faintly recognizes the characters but can’t remember what they mean. “It says ‘Sungho’. Illusion, like Dr. Jin Sungho, remember? I guess that’s the one people use to create illusions.”

“It’s cool that you remember that. I can’t even remember my own phone number.” This elicits a small laugh from Jeonghan.

A scream from the chute, however, startles both of them. “Jeonghan hyung! Mingyu! Are you two alive?” Seokmin yells.

“We’re fine!” Mingyu answers.

“Let’s work on finding an exit.” Jeonghan starts running his fingers along the wall, and Mingyu does the same thing.

After a few minutes, Jeonghan exclaims. “Here! There’s a seam on the slab with the vision circle on it!” Mingyu checks to see for himself, and he finds that it’s true. 

“It’s really pretty in here though. I kinda don’t wanna leave.”

Jeonghan hits him. “Idiot.”

“Okay, okay. There’s probably a password or something. Did you hear anything in the vision? Maybe a spell or something?”

“There was one! I think it was ‘Da irueo jul teni’?” The circle lights up, almost blinding the two. The scraping of concrete on concrete echoes through the room until they’re met with a hallway that looks like it just suffered an explosion. There’s already a door frame too.

Jihoon’s voice is loud and clear in Mingyu’s comm as he steps out into the hallway, avoiding the debris. “ _ Mingyu and Jeonghan just reappeared on the screen. _ ”

The onslaught of voices takes Mingyu off-guard, and it’s so loud that Jeonghan can hear it even though his earpiece is in his pocket.

“ _ Yo, calm down! _ ” Hansol yells, and all the voices quiet down.

“ _ Are you okay? _ ” Jisoo asks.

“We’re fine. Couldn’t find the ship but found a lot of magic circles.” Jeonghan replies, having put his comm back in.

“ _ Where are you? _ ” Soonyoung asks.

“ _ They’re in the same hallway that Jisoo hyung and Minghao were in before the bomb went off. _ ” Jihoon reports.

“ _ I knew there was something back there! _ ” Jisoo exclaims.

“ _ Still not what we’re looking for. _ ” Seungcheol points out.

“It was hella pretty though. Where’s Seokmin?” Mingyu turns a corner, trying to get back to the lobby. “Is he okay?”

“ _ I’m with Jun hyung and Hansol. Don’t worry. _ ” Seokmin laughs.

“I’m not worrying.”

“ _ What did you say you saw? Magic circles? _ ” Jihoon asks.

“Yeah. All over the place. On the walls, the ceiling, the floor, all of ‘em were glowing different colors. Some of them made that humming noise in like, a microwave. It was actually really nice.” Mingyu replies.

“ _ That’s a weird room to have. _ ” Jun remarks.

“ _ Why would the mafia need something like that? _ ” Minghao wonders.

“Beats me.” Jeonghan shrugs, a gesture wasted on the people who couldn’t see him.

“ _ We can make conspiracies later. Is everyone done? _ ” Seungcheol asks, and replies of ‘yes’ and ‘yeah’ are heard through the channel. “ _ Come back to the lobby then. _ ”

“Are we not going higher?” Minghao flops down on the lobby couch and is joined by Jeonghan.

“ _ Nah, the higher levels need security clearance for some reason. _ ” Seungcheol answers. “ _ Don’t forget to check the hallways, guys. _ ”

Seokmin comes bounding into the lobby with Jun and Hansol following, and Mingyu runs to greet him. Seokmin opens his arms out to him, smiling. “Was the room really that pretty? I kind of wanna see it now.” Seokmin says.

“I’d love to show you, but I think Seungcheol hyung wants to leave.” Mingyu pouts, turning to face Seungcheol, who had just come into the lobby with Wonwoo. The eldest, always weak for trembling lips and puppy eyes, waves them off.

“Don’t take too long.” The two ‘97 liners beam widely before running off to the blown up hallway. 

When they arrive at where the exit was, the concrete slab had moved back to block the doorway and the two groan. “Yeah, Seungcheol hyung? We’re going to have to go through the chute again.” Mingyu says as they turn around to find the stairwell.

“ _ Be quick. _ ”

“Yes sir.” They drone, and after a competitive look from Seokmin, they take off running. The trapdoor lies gaping in the middle of the hall and without hesitation, Mingyu leaps in, Seokmin following. The wind blows into Mingyu’s eyes and makes him tear up, but hearing Seokmin’s overjoyed shouts is totally worth it. 

“The one with light in it!” Mingyu yells as he swerves into the tunnel.

Mingyu lands easily and Seokmin follows, whooping with joy. “Yo, that was great! I wanna go agai--” Seokmin cuts himself off as he takes a look around the room, and Mingyu watches happily as Seokmin soaks in every detail of the room. He is absolutely taken in, not turning his attention away for even for a second.

After he’s finished, Seokmin pulls out his phone. Mingyu stares at him in confusion. “I need pictures. Jihoon hyung can read this.”

“For real? I didn’t know that.” Mingyu says incredulously.

“It’s true. Now, how do we get out?”

“Da irueo jul teni.” The concrete screeches as it moves, and Seokmin gapes in awe.

“That’s cool.”

“ _ You two done yet? _ ”

“We’re on our way back.” Mingyu replies. “You see everything you wanted to?”

“Yeah. That was amazing.”

“It really is.” Mingyu says. “But why would a room like that even exist?”

“Who knows. Maybe the mafia used magic?” Seokmin laughs at his own crazy thought. “No, that’s not it.”

“Definitely not.”

The others are still gathered in the lobby when Mingyu and Seokmin make it to the end of the hallway. Seokmin runs to Soonyoung to show him the pictures he took while Mingyu calmly walks.

He’s right next to the wall, running his fingers along it, trying to feel for any hidden door that might be holding the ship. If that ship was actually in this building, then there’s no way it could be found that easily. 

But Wonwoo is becoming too unpredictable, Mingyu guesses.

He’s almost out of the hallway when he steps on a tile that moves under his weight. It flips like a seesaw, and underneath the floor, a wooden mast and a white sail show themselves. Mingyu looks up and meets Wonwoo’s eyes.

And then everything goes straight to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School started on Monday, so my updates are definitely going to slow down. I also haven't been feeling very well, and my typed draft has almost caught up to where I am in the actual writing of the book. So expect the next chapters to come at least a week apart. Sorry for the inconvenience. I'll make sure to try and write~  
> Thank you for reading~


	15. 15. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bomb goes off, and the members have to deal with a burning building.

Wonwoo is watching closely as Mingyu feels the wall. It isn’t until the tile tips that Wonwoo remembers where exactly he hid the ship. He feels his eyes widen and Mingyu looks up, a mixture of surprise and fear coating his face.

“Shit.” Wonwoo mumbles and in the millisecond that follows, he sends a mental signal to Jihoon to press the ‘O’ key. Jihoon’s conscious rebels, but it’s easily overpowered by a blast of Wonwoo’s aura. 

Mingyu is still holding eye contact with Wonwoo when the bomb goes off. He’s blown forward by the explosion, and although Wonwoo sees Mingyu’s skin breaks, not a single atom in his body feels regret. 

The others aren’t nearly as calm as Wonwoo. The explosion sets off a panic mode in them, and their flight or fight instinct activates. Most of them choose flight, but Seokmin and Mingyu stay behind.

“Mingyu!” Seokmin screams through the burning debris, but Mingyu can’t be heard because of the roar of the fire. “I’m going in for him, Minghao. Go.”

“I won’t. It’s too dangerous. I’m staying and helping.” Minghao starts to take off his backpack, but Seokmin shakes his head furiously.

“That’s a command, Ming. Don’t let more people get hurt than necessary. Leave.” MInghao doesn’t move, so Seokmin shoves him. “Go.” Minghao does, as if possessed and Wonwoo watches from behind the flames as Seokmin advances into the fire. Seokmin looks incredibly scared as the debris continues to fall around him, but he doesn’t turn back. Wonwoo almost applauds his effort to save Mingyu, but if Mingyu were to die, then a good percentage of his problems would be solved. Maybe Seokmin should stop. He never caused Wonwoo any problems. It’d be a same if Seokmin died as collateral. 

Wonwoo doesn’t have the time to finish that thought before he sees Seokmin crouch down, probably having found Mingyu. The words of comfort are drowned out by the crash of the debris, but Seokmin is obviously saying that Mingyu is safe. It’s a bit disgusting, if Wonwoo is being honest. Especially seeing that Mingyu’s entire back has been burnt beyond recognition. Wonwoo kind of pities Seokmin for having to lug Mingyu out of the burning building, and he wonders if the two will make it out okay.

Seokmin manages okay, despite the fact that he has a 6’2 man on his back. Minghao is waiting at the exit, and Seokmin’s face is home to a mixture of exasperation, exhaustion, and relief. He passes an unconscious Mingyu to the waiting Nexor member, and promptly collapses. Minghao almost drops Mingyu when he dives to try and stop Seokmin’s fall.

“Hey, hey, Seokmin. You need to get up. You’re still in danger, still in the building.” Minghao coaxes, but Seokmin can barely push himself off the ground. He breaks into a coughing fit, and Minghao can only watch, not being able to walk and support Mingyu at the same time.

Wonwoo continues watching, not moving a muscle. If he moved now, what would Minghao think? He’s walking out of the flames, for god’s sake. That’d be enough to scare anyone. And how would he explain it?

Wonwoo spends a while debating on what he should do, but remembers that after this is all done, he can go home and take Seokmin’s pain away. 

Seokmin stops coughing after too long and crawls towards the door. The fire covers the threshold, and if Seokmin had stopped his fit earlier, maybe he would’ve been able to get out before the flames are through the wood, but unfortunately, he’s too late to escape without the top of the doorway falling. The wood lands across Seokmin’s back, and a crack resounds throughout the air, and Seokmin screams.

“Seokmin! Goddamnit! Seungcheol hyung!” Minghao yells, panic in his voice and on his face. Seungcheol sprints toward Minghao, and fear envelops his face as the situation registers in his mind. 

“Jun! Help me out!” Jun arrives just as Seungcheol gets the wooden plank off of Seokmin, who has tears streaming down his face. His coughs, previously suffocated by the weight on his back, come out in full force. He cries out in pain as each couch jostles his back, and Wonwoo knows that he’s going to be crippled for the rest of the dream, if he survives.

Jun pulls Seokmin out, and once he’s safely on the front steps, Seungcheol drops the beam and falls to Seokmin’s side. “Hey, Seokminnie.” Seungcheol coos. “Can you move?”

“N-No, hyung. Hyung, I can’t-- I can’t feel my legs, hyung.” Seokmin wheezes through his heaving sobs while Minghao hovers nervously.

“You’re going to be okay, Seokmin. Does it hurt when I do this?” Seungcheol tries to move Seokmin to a sitting position, but Seokmin inhales sharply, a sign of pain that Jun picks up on.

“It’s fi--” Seokmin starts, but Jun interrupts.

“Don’t you dare say that it’s okay, cause I know it’s not. Seungcheol hyung, we’ll need help moving him.” Jun turns to Seungcheol, who nods.

“Okay. Hang tight, Seokmin. Minghao, can you handle Mingyu-- of course not, why did I even ask. I’ll grab the others.” Seungcheol runs off, leaving the four. 

Wonwoo’s attention is drawn to Seokmin as he whimpers. “Hyung.” Jun crouches down to Seokmin’s level. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry. You’ll be okay. If I know him, you’ll be okay. He’ll get you fixed up, okay?” Is it Wonwoo’s imagination or does Jun look straight at him? 

“I-I’m sorry, hyung. I’m causing so much- so much trouble because I decided to play hero and ran into a burning building. I’m so damn stupid. I’m sorry.” 

“Do not be sorry. You saved Mingyu’s life, and I know that you’ll be okay. I’ll put every nerve and bone back in place manually if I have to. Don’t be scared, don’t worry, okay? You’re so precious to everyone, Seokmin. You should never be sorry.” The words flow out of Jun with the same effect as a forest stream. 

There’s no doubt that Seokmin can’t even breathe without being in immense pain. He probably can’t tell if his legs are on his body or not. And Jun knows that too. What doesn’t Jun know? “You’re going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. I’m here, everyone else is here, just stay with me, okay?”

“Okay.” Seokmin’s shudders are so violent that Wonwoo can see them from yards away. 

“Mingyu, you shouldn’t be trying to walk.” Minghao exclaims as he tries to get Mingyu to sit down, but the taller refuses. 

“I don’t care. Seokmin!” Mingyu stumbles onto the ground in front of Seokmin who tries to flash a small smile. “You should’ve left me in there.”

“No can do, Mingyu. I wasn’t about to let you die knowing that there was something that I could do. You don’t deserve to die.” Seokmin says. 

“Neither do you. You shouldn’t even be injured for my sake. I could’ve gotten out fine by myself.” Mingyu coughs. It’s the most blatant lie that Wonwoo has heard in a while. 

Seungcheol runs back with the others, looking even more frantic than before. “Jun.” Jun stands up to meet Seungcheol’s eyes. “We don’t know where Wonwoo is.” Seungcheol whispers. Wonwoo is kind of offended that it took them that long to notice, but what weighs more heavily on his mind is the look that Jisoo and Mingyu are sharing. 

“You know the magical energy he radiates. He’s probably back at home or something. Wonwoo is more than capable of taking care of himself.”  _ I radiate magical energy? _

“He radiates magical energy?” Seungcheol echoes.

“He does. Now,” Jun turns back to Seokmin, “shouldn’t we be focusing on the person we know for sure is injured?”

“Yeah.” Seungcheol drops it so quickly that Wonwoo is now even more offended. But now he knows that he doesn’t have to crawl pathetically out of the flames. “Would be nice if he could take Seokmin.” ‘Sucks, I don’t care though’ is what Wonwoo is thinking, but maybe there’s a part of him that does. Just a little bit. A tiny, little bit.

That little bit is enough to win Wonwoo over though. In an instant, Seokmin is teleported back to the house and new memories of Wonwoo taking Seokmin back early are planted in the member’s minds. 

“Where’d Seokmin go?” Jisoo, who was tending to Seokmin, jumped back in surprise when the boy disappeared.  _ Odd, _ Wonwoo thinks as he sends out the new memory again. Jisoo’s eyes glaze over and go blank for less than a second before Mingyu hits him. 

“What are you talking about, hyung? Wonwoo took him home early.” Mingyu wheezes through the smoke in his lungs, and Wonwoo is about to go crazy now.  _ What do those looks mean??? _ Wonwoo whines to himself.

“R-Right, I don’t know what I was talking about.” Jisoo clears his throat and his eyes go back to normal. He sends Mingyu a look of gratitude, and Wonwoo starts screaming internally.  _ What is going on?? _

Jisoo lets Mingyu lean on him as they stagger to catch up with the members. Wonwoo stays in the building whose flames are dying down. He sighs and once he’s sure that everyone is out of sight, he extinguishes the remaining fires. The embers are still orange and red, but there are no flames left. As Wonwoo walks around, the charcoal stains his shoes an ugly ash black. He’s too tired to care right now though. Dealing with his members is getting way too exhausting. Since when did Seungcheol feel so strongly about Jeonghan and Jisoo? Spent practically the entire time worrying about those two and claims that it’s platonic, He might be worse than Jihoon. Might.

But that’s not the point. The point is Wonwoo can’t deal with these people anymore. They keep fighting against  _ him _ , their  _ god _ , and he might just start being harsh on them. Even that so called ‘benevolent’ god that Jisoo believes in drowned the entire planet because they didn’t listen to him. Maybe Wonwoo is being  _ too _ nice? Probably. He should start buckling down on them. He can’t do that without help though. Or can he?

Theoretically, erasing himself from the members’ memories should be easy. But Wonwoo has been with them since he was one. Emotional attachments are a lot harder to get rid of than simple memories. Even if Wonwoo does erase the memories, the attachments will just put them back correctly. Feelings grown over 20 years don’t just disappear. It takes a magical skill much more advanced than Wonwoo’s to undo bonds like that. 

Although, maybe he doesn’t have to erase himself completely. Jisoo seems to behave under the ‘watchful eye’ of his god. So maybe they’ll act correctly if Wonwoo is in the same position. It’d be lonely. Wonwoo knows that, even now, but he probably deserves it anyway. Recreating himself as a deity that the members worship takes a lot more messing with memories than erasing himself completely, but it’s easier than unravelling bonds of 20 years. 

God, why did he put his note taking room in a building with a bomb set to destroy the entire place?

Also, something Wonwoo found out is that he can’t teleport in concrete. Last night when he was making that room, he’d gotten stuck for an hour because concrete was a pain in the ass to work with. Dr. Sungho never mentioned that concrete was stupid. Honestly, he doesn’t even know how long he was in there. Long enough for him to practically destroy the room in a fit of rage. 

Anyway, he’s supposed to be restoring the stupid block of concrete that had all his notes scribbled on the walls. Wonwoo has no clue if he even can restore it. That material has been so weird that he no longer knows what he can and can’t do with it. If he’s lucky, he can get all his notes back. If he’s not, then that would really suck. 

Wonwoo steps into the rubble of the room. God, why did he put the bomb right here? Everything is blown to hell. For sure, he’s going to need help. But the magic circle to create servants is in his notes that are now broken into pieces. Damn it all. How could he be so stupid?

Wait, what about Seokmin? Yeah, Wonwoo teleported him back, but he didn’t heal him. The members are going to know that something’s wrong when they come back and see that Seokmin is about to die. Guess there’s no choice but to fix him. Is this what Jun was talking about when he said that he knew him’? Was he talking about Wonwoo? How much does he know?

It’s not generally a hard task to heal someone. Wonwoo’s most prominent magic type  _ is  _ healing magic. It’s a lot more difficult when the person Wonwoo’s trying to heal lets out a short scream of surprise when he sees Wonwoo, therefore alerting the entire household to his presence. If there wasn’t anything in it for Wonwoo, he probably would’ve left Seokmin for dead… is what Wonwoo thinks, but seeing the tears that come from the pain of screaming roll down Seokmin’s face makes him change his thoughts in a heartbeat.

He tells Chan, Jihoon, and Seungkwan that everything’s okay, and he quickly heals Seokmin before teleporting back to the building. 

Standing back in the ruins of his room makes Wonwoo release a sigh. “Why do I do this to myself?” He says to no one.

God, Wonwoo doesn’t even know if his notes are worth restoring this block of the most unpredictable shit in the world. And what is he supposed to do with the members while he’s working on the room? They’re bound to notice that he’s missing. Stop time? Should be simple enough-- it doesn’t require a circle unless it goes for over 24 hours. But then he can let a second pass and just stop it again. Easy.

~~~

According to a watch that Wonwoo has protected from the time freeze, it takes almost 36 hours for Wonwoo to restore everything, and by the end, he’s sweaty, exhausted, and annoyed beyond belief. He didn’t know it was possible to hate a material this much. There’s no way that this was worth it. But at least now, he can make himself a real god.

Thinking about it now, Wonwoo remembers that if he does make himself a deity, then he’ll be so fucking lonely. As much as he wants to be worshipped, this dream was made because he loves the members. Why is he doing something that will take him away from them? Even if they’re annoying, everything he’s doing is for them. So why is he even thinking about this?

~~~

Wonwoo finishes his internal debate and decides to stay with the members and make a servant. While he deals with the members, the servant can work behind the scenes and he can get stuff done twice as quickly. He won’t be lonely, and he can still have new things for the members to enjoy. Or suffer through, it really depends on how you see it. One thing is for sure, Wonwoo is definitely going to enjoy it.

As he stands within the circle, he recalls the words needed to start the spell. They weren’t a lot. Just a few lines. “Kkeuti an boyeo.” The circle starts to glow and Wonwoo continues. “Nan gwaenchanha. Neo bogo sipji anha. Iryoiri ol ttaemyeon.” Now he’s almost blinded, and he struggles to remember the next few lines that are significantly longer. “Neoneun octagon jiogeseo gieo nan bappeunikka. Uri majimaki eonjelji alji mothadorado. Jakkeum ddeoreojineun nunmul heullin ddaedo.” And the most important one that hopefully Wonwoo will be able to remember, as it’s over five sentences long.

“Eoril jeoge han beonjjeumeu deureobwattdeon, sarang soge michindaneun heunhan yaegi. Ibadageul da teoddeuryeo mine. Ja yeogi seongjeong, nan du mal anhago haeongdongeuro nal boyeojuneun taip. Eumageuroman ddaedon beolge, nae shimjoneun jeolddae, un haeng il chi andwimyeon jugji songarak. Modeun getodeil bogo deutgo neukkin huwae. Bada wiae bong ddeuneun neukkim. Gwak chaittdeon meori wiae sseulmo eobneun jime. Bul jireuneundeushi. Botong hillingirago heunhi saramdeureun geureohge bureji. Nado geureohge geu sigani.”  _ Wow.  _ Wonwoo is amazed with himself for being able to remember everything. Seventeen lines and he said them all easily. If moving during the spell didn’t kill him, then he might’ve given himself a pat on the back. 

This is the first time he’s ever witnessed the creation of a living thing, so he’s curious as to how the servant will appear. Dr. Sungho had mentioned that the servant will most likely be a person that he knows and is close with. The big question is who is the person gonna be? The only people that Wonwoo knows are the members and one of the guards. It would be weird to have any of them as his servant. 

The servant starts to materialize and Wonwoo watches in awe as the particles in the air cluster together to form a human body. But the body is female? He doesn’t know any females other than Yuna and Project PT, and even then, he’s not close with them. Who is that? The face isn’t familiar at all. 

When the body is fully formed, the girl drops to her knees and Wonwoo almost goes down to her side, but then remembers that he is her master and he’s supposed to be above helping her. Slowly, she stands up and Wonwoo is able to take in her features. She bears a small resemblance to Mingyu, but at the same time she looks far too different from him. Who is this girl and how does Wonwoo know her?

She finally stands up all the way and upon seeing Wonwoo, she bows. “Master.” That sounds so weird and unnatural. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it.

“Call me Wonwoo.” Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, but she doesn’t stand up. “Do you have a name?” Wonwoo asks. She probably doesn’t, but it never hurts to ask, right?

“No, Master Wonwoo. I am only a servant and do not require a name.” She replies. That won’t work. Wonwoo wants to be a god, but he’s not so high and mighty that he would simply call someone ‘servant’. 

“Too bad, you’re going to get one. How about Minseo?” Wonwoo muses. It isn’t too bad. Fits her. 

“Whatever you think is fit.” Although he can’t get used to being called Master, Wonwoo  _ can  _ get used to having someone be this obedient. If only the members were like this. He can settle for having Minseo though.

“Okay, Minseo. You’re gonna follow all my orders from now on, right?” 

“Yes.” Oh, this’ll be so fun. But there’s still one more thing to do.

~~~

After giving Minseo the basic run of things, Wonwoo leaves to tie the last loose end. The actual artifact. It’s still on Hansol’s desk where he left it. He thanks Hansol and then goes back to the building, bottle in hand. Minseo’s looks turn curious, but she doesn’t speak. 

“This is one of the artifacts that is needed to wake them up.” Wonwoo explains. 

“What are you going to do with it?” Minseo asks, curiousness fading away.

“Well, it’s too risky to leave it, so we’ll do this.” Wonwoo breaks his connection with the artifact, and then raises it above his head and then slams it down onto the ground. The bottle shatters and the ship splinters, its small wooden pieces littered within the glass shards. 

Minseo’s face doesn’t betray any surprise as she deadpans. “Shall I clean that up, Master Wonwoo?” 

“Yes please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait. School has been keeping me busy. Hope you enjoyed the update and please look forward to the next!


	16. 16. Joshua

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the bomb.

Seokmin had suddenly disappeared while Jisoo had been trying to calm the younger down, and both Jisoo and Mingyu know that Wonwoo had teleported him back home. Strangely enough, Jun also knows about Wonwoo’s magical powers, but he doesn’t seem to know about the dream. If he does, he hasn’t said anything. 

Jisoo had almost been brainwashed like the rest of the members. Luckily, Mingyu had been able to stop it. Through a subtle gesture, Mingyu had alerted Jisoo to Wonwoo’s presence in the building, and the two had prevented anything horrible from happening. If Jun’s hunch is correct, then Seokmin should be healed. If Jun isn’t right, then it’s going to be painful for everyone. 

As he drags Mingyu along, Jisoo wishes for the sweet release of death. Yeah, Mingyu is way more hurt than himself, but having the biggest member the only part of his body that  _ is  _ injured is a bit too much for Jisoo to handle. Mingyu is conscious, which makes it easier, but Jisoo is about to drop him here because he’s too weak to carry Mingyu all the way back. At least neither of them were as injured as Seokmin. 

But still, Jisoo stumbles, and although he balanced himself as quickly as he could, Jeonghan notices. He walks over and throws Mingyu’s other arm around his shoulder. “You know, if you needed help, you could’ve just asked.”

“Hyung’s not the type to do that. You don’t have to carry me, hyungs. I can walk.” 

“That’s a load of bull. Even if you could, I wouldn’t let you. You’re gonna fall over if I let you stand on your own.” Jisoo says. Mingyu sticks his tongue out at him, and Jisoo returns to gesture. 

“We’re almost home anyway. All we have to do is cross the river.” Mingyu coughs, nodding his head in the direction of the path across the body of water. 

A shiver runs down Jisoo’s spine and Mingyu shudders as well. They meet eyes and know what that Wonwoo must’ve done something. There also seems to be a new presence in the dream. Not good. 

Everyone is silent, far too tired from the expedition to talk. When Seungcheol slams the door open and declares that they’re home, Jihoon and Chan come running out of their rooms. “How was it?” Chan asks as he runs down the stairs. 

“It was okay. Tiring. Dangerous. It was a good idea to have you stay at home.” Seungcheol barely makes it onto the couch before collapsing. Chan huffs but doesn’t say anything. 

“It would’ve been less dangerous had you guys had thought before acting.” Jihoon says, throwing a cushion onto Seungcheol’s face. “Minghao, Jisoo hyung, catch.” Jihoon tosses a box to Minghao. “Get yourselves cleaned up, you look half dead. And Mingyu…” Jihoon takes a deep breath as he eyes the tallest. “We’ll do our best.” 

They can try their everything, but it won’t matter. It’s a wonder than Mingyu is even alive after all the smoke in his lungs and burns that are etched into his skin. And they can’t depend on Wonwoo to heal him; he hates Mingyu. Seokmin is lucky that he’s a ball of sunshine otherwise he’d be dead. Mingyu knows that too, but he puts on a smile for the members to feel calmer. 

Jisoo and Minghao are ushered to the bathroom by Chan, who says that Jihoon has given him the task of making sure that they don’t die. Jisoo gives him a smile and he leaves, saying that if they need anything, he’ll be right outside. When he closes the door, Jisoo sighs softly. 

“Are you okay, hyung?” Minghao asks, concerned. 

“I would hope so. I’m more worried about you. How are you feeling?” Minghao had been there when the first bomb went off and taken a huge blow. He had been there when Seokmin ran into the building to save Mingyu, and he had watched as Seokmin was crushed, unable to do anything because he had to choose between Mingyu and Seokmin. There is, without a doubt, a million things on his mind, each filled with guilt. 

“I guess I’m okay. How okay can one feel after all that happened? Will they even be able to help Mingyu?” Minghao’s smile is nothing but depressed. “He almost died and he’s still standing and smiling. He’s not going to go down without a fight. And here I am, being all mopey and shit. I wish I could be like him.” Jisoo pushes an antibacterial wipe on a cut on his cheek, and Minghao hisses. 

“You’re not like him. You’re Minghao, not Mingyu. Nothing is wrong with being ‘mopey’. With all that you’ve been through today, you deserve this at the very least. Mingyu is like this because he’s a different breed. You two are different. You don’t have to be like him, Hao. There’s no reason for you to be. We all love you the way you are.” Jisoo rips a band-aid’s packaging apart and pulls it across the cut. It’s a lot to say for just one sentence, but if Minghao is anything like Jisoo himself, he needs to hear stuff like this in order to stop feeling this way. 

“I know. Sometimes, I just get those kinds of thoughts. Thanks anyway, hyung.” Jisoo smiles at the younger and then turns to look at his back in the mirror. The white shirt he had been wearing has rips all over and red streaks of dried blood peek through the holes. He got so lucky that none of the debris had actually stuck itself in his skin. But if he recalls correctly, there was a huge cut on his shoulder earlier. Why is there only a thin, crusted scrape where there should be a gash that should still be bleeding? There’s no way that he’s wrong; Jisoo remembers the pain and sting like it was still on his body.

Minghao doesn’t notice Jisoo’s confusion and just sighs. “That’s all the damage I got. You think Channie will let me out to see Mingyu?” He gazes wistfully towards the door, where Chan is planted, unknowingly acting as a guard to the two inside. 

“I don’t think he can stop you. Not physically.” Jisoo chuckles, touching the cuts on his back. 

“I guess not. Do you wanna come out too, hyung?” Minghao asks as he reaches for the doorknob. Jisoo does need a new shirt, so he nods. Minghao yanks on the door, startling Chan, who had started to doze off. Jisoo almost smiles.  _ Not really the best person to put as a guard, Jihoonie. _

“Where are you two going?” Chan asks. 

“To see if we can help Mingyu.” Minghao replies. Ah, Jisoo needs another shirt but Mingyu comes first. He shortly debates cleaning up his back and decides against it. Mingyu comes first. 

“It’s not really like I have anything against it-- you know I’d love to help Mingyu hyung-- but what can you do? You’re not healers. You have no medical experience-- then again, no one else does. I guess you can, but I don’t know, there’s not much to do. He collapsed as soon as we left. All they’re doing is trying to see if aloe vera can help anything.” Chan admonishes. What was aloe vera going to do? These are burns that only Wonwoo can heal, but he won’t. 

“We’ll go anyway.” Minghao says, although everyone knows that there’s nothing they could do.

In the family room, the members have an unconscious Mingyu flipped onto his back while Jeonghan squirts ungodly amounts of aloe vera gel into his hand. Hansol looks up when Minghao and Jisoo walk in and goes to Jisoo.

“It’s not going to work, is it, hyung.” He says sadly. Jisoo can’t do anything but shake his head. Even Mingyu has to break at some point. He’s not invincible or immortal. There’s no way that they can heal the burns. They’re lucky he’s even alive. But Jisoo does wonder what’s happening to his physical body. Is there damage to Mingyu’s mind, or what? 

Thinking about that, Jisoo remembers Seokmin and quickly tells Minghao that he’ll be right back. When Jisoo opens the door, a wave of relief washes over him upon seeing Seokmin sleeping soundly without a trace of injury.  _ Maybe there’s still good in Wonwoo,  _ Jisoo thinks, but he knows that if he entertains that train of thought, then it won’t be good.

Another thought he has is ‘How much does Jun know’. He obviously knows that Wonwoo could use magic, and he knows that Wonwoo could heal. Is he like Jisoo himself and Mingyu, who had been awake during the ritual? Come to think of it, back during the first few days of the dream, he never outright said ‘no’ to what Mingyu was saying. He just laughed.  _ What exactly does he know?  _ Jisoo thinks as he pulls on a new shirt. 

But unfortunately, it’s not like he can outright ask Jun ‘Hey, do you think that we’re trapped in a dream?’ cause like, that’s just creepy. And Wonwoo has something along the lines of super hearing, so even if he did ask, then his memory would just wiped again, and Mingyu would be too dead to help him get it back. So for now, he has to think smart. If he does anything stupid, Jisoo might actually die. They’ve been testing Wonwoo too much lately and there’s only so much that he can do without snapping Wonwoo’s sanity. 

Maybe if Jisoo does the same thing that Mingyu did for him. Write everything down and converse by writing notes. But Jun and Minghao never close their bedroom door and the members can come in whenever they want. And if Jisoo brings Jun to his room, that’d be suspicious, since he hardly has one-on-ones with Jun. Ambushing him in the bathroom is definitely not ideal. Where exactly can Jisoo give Jun the papers while being able to answer his questions? Writing takes a long time by itself, but Jun has to read the almost five pages of what the hell is going on, have it sink in, and then put his questions into words and be able to put them onto paper. Maybe if Jisoo drops it off and then swings by later to answer. That might work.

Deciding on that, Jisoo heads back downstairs for the time being to stay with Mingyu. He’ll deliver the papers later, when night comes. There’s no harm in waiting a little longer.

In the family room, Seungcheol is explaining to Jihoon in full detail what happened at the building, from the moment they entered to the moment they walked back into the house. Jihoon, although he looks quite tired, listens intently to Seungcheol’s report. Seeing as it’s around noon, some members had gone to the kitchen to make food in order to help keep everyone’s energy up, but that might be a hard thing to do, considering that Mingyu lay on the couch, burns out for the world to see. 

Nonetheless, Soonyoung and Chan try their best to get the members to smile. Jisoo loves the two of them, but if he laughs while Mingyu is in this state and while Wonwoo could be literally anywhere, then it’d feel disgusting. Somehow, it feels even worse when Soonyoung wipes his smile off his face and Chan silences himself, both of them knowing that getting the members to feel happy isn’t gonna happen. Jisoo pulls Chan onto his lap, and the younger rests his head on Jisoo’s shoulder, no doubt tired from trying to cheer everyone up.

Jisoo, a few minutes later, flinches at a tiny sharp pains in his back, like a knife is digging in his back and reopening his cuts. Chan raises his head from Jisoo’s shoulder and looks at Jisoo in confusion. “Hyung, you’re bleeding.” This gains the attention of the other members, who swivel their heads toward Jisoo, who’s trying to guess why the cuts are open again. 

“Really?” Jisoo reaches his hand up his back and when he pulls it back, sure enough, his fingertips are sticky and red. “How did that happen? I thought they closed up.” Jisoo mutters to himself, but Chan still hears it.

“What? You were hurt and didn’t tell anyone?” Chan stands up.

“It’s not a big deal, Channie. The cuts were small and closed up quickly. It wasn’t worth making a fuss over.” Jisoo reassures him, but if he’s being completely honest, he’s panicking a bit on the inside because the only cause that his paranoid mind can come up with is ‘Wonwoo is coming to kill you’, which is absolute bullshit. Wonwoo wouldn’t kill him without a reason, and Jisoo hasn’t given him one. Even if he did piss Wonwoo off, he’d be fine, because Mingyu has been doing the same thing ever since the dream started and is still alive for the time being. 

“Yeah, but it’s bleeding again, so it can’t be good. I could see it from the stove.” Jihoon says as he walks out of the kitchen with a large pot of instant ramen, probably the only thing that he could make. “I thought I had Chan bring you to the bathroom to make sure you get cleaned up.”

“He did. I just told him that I didn’t need help. Besides, even if I did get ‘cleaned up’, this stuff would just bleed through the bandages.” Jisoo pulls his shirt over his head, trying his best to not get the wet, red splotches on his hair or skin. Although the bleeding started a few seconds ago, the blood now covers a good half of the back of the shirt. He can feel the sludge-like substance all over his back. Why the hell is it bleeding so much? It wasn’t nearly this bad earlier. What exactly did Wonwoo do?

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We absolutely have to bandage you now though.” Jihoon puts the pot down on the table and Hansol comes in after him with a stack of paper bowls and chopsticks. “The rest of you, eat up.” With a look from Jihoon, Chan gets off of Jisoo’s lap and Jihoon drags him out by the wrist. 

When the two are in the bathroom, Jihoon pulls out an enormous first aid kit from under the sink. He pulls out a washcloth from the closet, wets it, and wipes as much blood as he can off of Jisoo’s back. His eyebrows crinkle when he takes another look at Jisoo’s back. “What the fuck happened to you, hyung?” 

“What do you mean?” Jisoo twists his back to try and see what exactly Jihoon is talking about. And then he sees it. The cuts on his back form two words. ‘Stop it’. What the hell was Wonwoo thinking when he decided to put that on Jisoo? At least it was Jisoo who got it and not Minghao, seeing as how it still bled even when Jihoon wiped the blood off again and again. If he could take even a little bit of pain away from the members, then he’d do anything. 

Then Jisoo comes to a final decision.

He won’t tell Jun. 

Jisoo doesn’t want to drag him into something that he shouldn’t need to be involved in. If he does, then Jun will be in danger, and that’s more painful than anything. If he can save even one member, then he’ll take that chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I'll be able to spit out for a while. I'll have way less time to update because I'm part of a dance crew, I'm trying out for basketball, and I'm the volleyball team manager, so please understand. As always, thank you for reading and please continue to support me.


	17. 17. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu wakes up.

When Chan takes Jisoo and Minghao away, Mingyu finally lets himself fall. He does manage to stay conscious long enough to see all the members running to his side before he blacks out. 

He wakes up on the couch with Wonwoo sleeping right next to him. His brain immediately goes to the train of thought that had been continuing for his whole life.  _ Wow. _ And then Mingyu remembers all that Wonwoo has done and shoves the older away from him. Surprisingly, Wonwoo doesn’t open his eyes and instead just falls, still asleep. 

“Odd.” Mingyu monologues. Wonwoo has always been an extremely light sleeper. How he didn’t wake up just now is shocking. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and his eyes widen when he sees the date.

_ I’ve just travelled back in time.  _ There’s no way that it was only two days after the dream was created. It had already been almost a week. But why does his phone have the date like this? Wonwoo must’ve done something to it. That’s the problem. Wonwoo always is the problem. 

Mingyu shakes the older to wake him up, but other than his pulse and breathing, Wonwoo doesn’t show any signs that he’s even alive. Maybe it’s better this way… He can’t cause any damage like this… Mingyu should just let him be. _ Yeah, that’s better than letting him do anything,  _ Mingyu decides. But he does want to know what Wonwoo would get out of setting his phone back three weeks. 

The first thing Mingyu notices when he pulls back the blinds is that the sky is blue, the color it’s supposed to be, but not the color in L2. Mingyu stares out the window for a few seconds before it finally occurs to him that maybe this isn’t the dream. It makes sense. Wonwoo doesn’t wake up after being shoved and shaken, the date is set back two days, the sky is a different color than L2. The question is how did he get here, and how does he go back? It’s great that he’s out, but if the members aren’t, then there’s no point. He’d readily go back into the dream if it meant he could get even one member out. 

But Mingyu can’t even do that unless he gets someone to put him back in. He honestly has no clue where Dr. Sungho lives and Wonwoo-- well, he’s Wonwoo. Mingyu hopes that the day will never come when he has to ask  _ Wonwoo  _ of all people to help. He says that he’d rather die, but then the other members would be stuck without any knowledge of what the truth is. It’s not like he doesn’t trust Jisoo to save them-- he told only Jisoo for a reason-- but Jisoo is too cautious and weak to do what needs to be done. 

That train of thought is cut off by a stirring on the couch. Mingyu, knowing full well who it is, takes up a fighting stance as Wonwoo sits up. The two lock eyes for a moment before Wonwoo sighs. 

“I messed up.” Mingyu doesn’t know if he’s talking about the fact that he imprisoned the members or the fact that Mingyu was able to wake up. 

“You did.” Mingyu snarls. He’s about to demand that he get put back into the dream, but then he remembers that he’s supposed to not know anything. “What is this place? The sky’s blue, the date is a few days behind. Where are we?”

Wonwoo’s almond eyes widen a little. “You seriously don’t remember?” 

“Should I?” Mingyu suddenly wonders if he’s playing  _ too  _ dumb. Maybe now that he’s out of the dream, he should remember what this place is. If he messes up here, then everything he’s worked for goes to waste. Wonwoo will know that the wipe didn’t work, and then this time, he won’t mess up. Everything will be gone, and Jisoo will no doubt blame himself for it. 

“No, no, it’s alright. I think you’re just not used to this place yet. Sleep it off.” Wonwoo tells him. Mingyu feels a little bit grateful, because Wonwoo telling him to sleep means that he’ll go back into the dream, where he can actually do something with his life. 

“Yeah. That’d be nice.” Mingyu lays back down on the couch and sleep overtakes him as quickly as the first time. 

~~~

Mingyu opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is the beige ceiling of his room. Which means that someone has to have carried him there, and that seems unlikely given how many members can actually lift him. The only one who probably can is Seungcheol, but the older is usually okay with letting the members pass out anywhere they want. So who brought him here?

He hears rustles coming from the desk, and Mingyu flips onto his side and immediately narrows his eyes. He shouldn’t be mad; this is Wonwoo’s room also. But just seeing the older is fucking annoying. Wonwoo catches sight of Mingyu and smiles. It’s just as innocent and loving as it was before, and Mingyu wants to rip his heart out so it stops fluttering.  _ This is not someone to love _ , Mingyu reminds himself yet again. 

“How are you feeling, Mingyu?” Wonwoo asks. The smile spread across his face is making it so damn hard for Mingyu to hate him. 

“Okay.” Mingyu mumbles. There are two sets of memories fighting in his mind, each trying to claim themselves as the real version of what happened, each screaming and forcing themselves into a place that they believe belongs to them. Whenever Wonwoo had tried to replace his memories before, he had always known which one was the correct version of things. But this time, they’re both too loud, too convincing. It’s too confusing. 

“Nothing hurts?” That’s a risky question, and Wonwoo also realizes it, smile slipping off his face. Underneath the words, the fact that something _had_ _been_ hurting is implied, contrasting to one of the versions of memories that shows that Mingyu had been in perfect health this entire time. 

“...no. I don’t think so.” Mingyu replies as he flips onto his back again. One set of memories seems to be more of the truth than the other, and Mingyu finally lets it slide into place. From the few words that Wonwoo has said, the chances of him being caught in a bomb explosion are more likely than him willingly choosing to go home with Wonwoo and Seokmin while leaving the other members behind. 

“Good.” Wonwoo’s smile reappears, and there’s suddenly another empty space in the bookshelves of his memory. He feels so much hate toward Wonwoo, but why is the reason? Actually, everything is fuzzy. All he can recall is Jisoo. Jisoo, for sure, has the answers that Mingyu desperately needs. 

“Where’s everyone else?” Mingyu sits up and wraps his hands in the blankets in an effort to warm them. 

“They’re all downstairs eating. I stayed up here to keep an eye on you. Are you hungry?” Wonwoo stands up and walks over to the bed. Mingyu has to stop himself from flinching away when Wonwoo sits down. He doesn’t know why he’s being like this. Wonwoo has been good to Mingyu, always. What happened during the memories that Mingyu has lost?

“I guess.” He’s not. But if the members are downstairs, then he has to be as well. He doesn’t know exactly why he feels like he has to protect them, but where the members are, Jisoo, who has the answers, is. 

Wonwoo holds out a hand for Mingyu to take, and rebelling against the voice in his head that screams for him to not take it, Mingyu grabs onto it and uses it to pull himself out of the bed. Wonwoo’s hand fits into his own like it always had. It’s oddly relaxing, but not enough for his nerves to disarm the anxiety that’s pulsing through his every vein. The nervousness is completely uncalled for though. This is how it has always been-- the two of them. 

They head downstairs to the dining room, where the members are eating. The regular bickering is ensuing while Jisoo tries to mediate, as always. He looks completely at home though, eyes shining and gentle smile flashing at the members who refuse to stop fighting. Until he catches sight of Mingyu and Wonwoo’s interlocked fingers. A brief look of confusion crosses his face before he quickly puts a smile back on and gestures to the two empty seats next to him. 

Mingyu takes the seat closest to Jisoo, who has already busied himself with the members again. That’s perfectly fine though. The same voice that told Mingyu not to take Wonwoo’s hand is telling him to not talk about anything with Jisoo in front of the other members, especially Wonwoo. There’s something about the way that Wonwoo is holding his hand that puts Mingyu off a little, but for now, he can deal with it. If it means he can get answers, then he’ll go through anything. 

~~~

After dinner. That’s when Mingyu had wanted to talk to Jisoo. It had seemed like an easy task earlier, but with the way that Jisoo is surrounding himself with people, one would think that Jisoo is avoiding the younger. That couldn’t be it though. Jisoo would never. He may not be the closest with Jisoo, but they’re not so far apart that the older would avoid him, right? What did he do wrong?

Although he wants to talk to Jisoo as soon as possible, Mingyu’s head is too clouded to make sense of anything that Jisoo might tell him. Fresh air always helped, plus it would be nice to take a look around the town that he had only visited during the trip to the building. Quickly telling Seungcheol where he was going, Mingyu slams his shoes onto his feet and then he’s off. 

He still has two hours until the water starts to come up, so he knows that he can take his time. He certainly needs it. The only place that he knows in the town is the building that he apparently almost got killed in. Against his better judgement, that’s the first place Mingyu sets his sights on going. 

It’s strange though. According to his memories, the building had gotten blown up this morning. So why is it still standing, completely unharmed and very much  _ not  _ on fire? Was this set of memories the wrong one? There’s definitely signs of life here, seeing as how there are lights on in some of the rooms and there’s a small plastic bag on the curb, probably a trash bag. Mingyu pokes it with his foot and hears the clatter of glass, but there’s also brown patches that show through the translucent white. 

Not far from the bag, there’s a stray piece of glass that the owner probably dropped on the way to the curb. “It’d be dangerous to leave it there.” Mingyu thinks out loud as he bends down to pick it up.

His fingers make contact with the piece, and Mingyu falls to his knees at the onslaught of images flooding his mind. The books in his memory bank are being ripped from their place and new ones are being slammed into the spaces so hard that Mingyu finds himself nauseous and struggling to keep his dinner in his stomach. 

“Are you alright?” A feminine voice asks from behind him as Mingyu sways before promptly blacking out.

~~~

Mingyu comes to and finds himself on one of the couches in the lobby.  _ Minseo _ . Even if the bottle isn’t connected to Wonwoo anymore, it’s still more than capable of showing Mingyu everything that the older has been up to, including the creation of Minseo, the breaking of the artifact, and even Mingyu waking up from the dream temporarily. But it doesn’t explain why Minseo disobeyed Wonwoo’s orders by letting herself be seen by a member. Could it be possible that Wonwoo messed up in her creation?

“Are you alright?” Minseo asks again. Mingyu turns around and finds her standing at the front door with a clipboard held tight against her chest. “You collapsed outside so I thought I should bring you inside. You touched the loose piece of glass, correct? Master Wonwoo is no longer connected to that artifact, so I had you brought inside so that when he returns, he can figure out what he shall do with you.” Minseo says.  _ Ah, so she knows everything.  _ So she had let herself be seen because she knew that Mingyu had learned about her already. 

“No, I’m fine. I’ll be leaving now.” Mingyu gets up from the couch, but Minseo moves into the way of the door. Although she’s small, the doorway is blocked.

“I apologize, sir, but until Master Wonwoo returns, I am not permitted to allow you to leave.” She tries to maintain her ground as Mingyu pushes her aside, but of course, it’s easy to move her out of the way. “Sir! You cannot leave!” Minseo calls after Mingyu as he starts walking down the front steps. 

“Quit making such a fuss, Minseo. Wonwoo won’t have to know a thing; he’s not even connected to the ship anyway. It’ll be our little secret, okay? Just keep your mouth shut.” Mingyu places a finger over his lips. Minseo’s face doesn’t betray any emotion, but she sighs.

“I’ll be punished if he finds out.”  _ So there is something with the way she was made.  _ Minseo is too easily swerved that there’s no way she was made correctly. Mingyu doesn’t know anything about magic, but he does know that a servant should be willing to die for their master. Minseo, on the other hand, is already developing independence from Wonwoo. 

“He won’t. Trust me.” Wonwoo may be weird, but there’s no way that he heard everything from the house, which is a good half hour walk away. 

“If you say so. Please make sure that he does not, sir.” Minseo says.

“Only if you promise not to tell him about this little, ahem, event.” Minseo nods, and Mingyu’s faith in Wonwoo’s magic fizzles out. “I will do my best to keep this from him. Just don’t betray me, okay?” Mingyu finally leaves and doesn’t turn back. All he can do is trust Minseo like he used to trust Wonwoo. 

~~~

It’s late when Mingyu gets back to the river. Luckily enough, he can cross without getting drowned. His sneakers got a little wet, but it’s nothing a night on the vent won’t fix. No one asks about where he was, and now that he got a hold of the artifact, he doesn’t need to talk to Jisoo, so the night is free for him to sleep. Unless something goes wrong, and something always does. So Mingyu knows not to let his guard down. 

As expected, Chan barges into his room an hour later and declares that he’s sleeping here tonight. Something about Seungkwan and Hansol being annoying, but it’s not like Mingyu is paying attention. He just knows that with Chan in the room, Wonwoo will come back tonight. It’d be too risky for both of them if Wonwoo didn’t come back. Chan would no doubt ask questions that Mingyu can’t answer, and then they’ll both be fucked over. 

Mingyu had separated his and Wonwoo’s beds back on the first night of the dream, but now that Chan was here, he doesn’t really have much of a choice but to push them back together. Of course, he  _ can  _ keep them apart, but then one of them has to fit Chan onto their bed. For the two biggest members in Project SVT, fitting another member onto a twin bed won’t be easy, no matter what. Mingyu doesn’t really want to deal with that headache though. If he’s lucky, this is the only disturbance for the night and he can pass out. 

It’s calm for the rest of the night, even when Wonwoo is in the room for what seems like the first time since he created the dream. Even with the silence that sleep brings, Mingyu still can’t keep himself from worrying about Minseo’s situation. What if she was just as smart as Wonwoo and tricked Mingyu into leaving without a fear in the world? Wonwoo  _ is  _ here, so he could easily wipe Mingyu just as easily as he could kill him. And he evidently doesn’t care about collateral damage, seeing as he erased Chan’s memories right when Seungkwan was behind him. 

One more night without sleep won’t kill him. It’s all for the sake of keeping his memories, making things easier for Jisoo, and getting the members out of a reality that shouldn’t even exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got done a lot quicker than I thought... I'm really bad at estimating time apparently. I'll try my best to get the next chapters out. As always, thanks for supporting me. Please continue to look forward to the next updates!


	18. 18. Wonwoo

Wonwoo shivers at the sudden sensation that’s making its way up his back and groans once his spine pops. “Is that okay?” The man behind him asks. 

“Way better. Thanks, hyung.” Wonwoo whispers for fear of waking someone else up. 

“No problem, Wonwoo.” Jeonghan climbs off of Wonwoo’s back and ruffles his hair. 

“How goes it with the others? Anything new?” Wonwoo sits up only to lay back down in Jeonghan’s lap. The older doesn't mind it. In fact he’s the one encouraging it. If Chan isn’t going to take full advantage of Jeonghan’s affection, then Wonwoo will. Jeonghan is the one that everyone goes to if they want to complain or rant or ask for advice. Getting close to Jeonghan meant getting information on  _ everyone _ . 

Of course, he’s fond of Jeonghan as a person as well, but the benefits of being Jeonghan’s favorite dongsaeng, well, those are pretty nice too. 

“Nothing new. Even if anything did happen, you would’ve been there to see it. You’ve been out of your room all day. Even now, you’re here and not sleeping. Something wrong with you?” Jeonghan asks. That concern of his always put Wonwoo in a good mood. Maybe he’ll disclose a little bit of information. 

“I broke something sort of important to me.” Technically speaking, the artifact  _ is  _ very important to him. He hated it so much and needed it gone so much that it’s important. 

“Can you not fix it?” Jeonghan runs his fingers through Wonwoo’s hair. 

Wonwoo grumbles in response. “No. It was glass.” 

“Oh.” Jeonghan says. It’s hard to come up with a reply to what Wonwoo has told him, so he doesn’t blame the older for staying quiet while he tried to come up with something to say. “It’s a stupid question, but are you sad?”

“Not really. It was only sort of important. I can deal without it.” Wonwoo smiles, and Jeonghan drops it. 

“Channie is sleeping in your room tonight, right? Do you not wanna go to sleep because of him?” Jeonghan asks. 

“No, no, he’s fine. I don’t care that he’s in there. He doesn’t make any noise or move a lot. I just-- I just don’t like sleeping.” Wonwoo tells him. If anything, Chan is the reason that he’ll even get into bed tonight. Everyone has a soft spot for Chan, and Wonwoo is definitely no exception. It’s hard to not let himself fall for the youngest’s beautiful eye smile and laugh. 

“You should though. Just because we only need five hours doesn’t mean you should skip it every night. When was the last time you even spent the night at home?” Jeonghan takes Wonwoo’s cold hands into his own warm ones and rubs them together. “You’re freezing. Have you been overcasting again? I know that it’s for our sake, but you need to take your own health into consideration.” 

Oh yeah, Jeonghan knows that Wonwoo can use magic, but he doesn’t know about the dream. He just thinks that this is real and that Wonwoo is using his magic to keep the members safe. “I haven’t been overcasting. I just used a spell today that required a lot of my power. I’ll be fine after tonight.” It’s better for him to not tell Jeonghan when he last was at home during the night.

“Make sure you take care of yourself. If you get hurt, then who’s gonna be able to heal you? Cause I’m pretty sure that you’re the only one here who knows how to use their magic properly.” Jeonghan says. “Yeah, Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan have it too, but they don’t know it. You’re more important than you give yourself credit for, so make sure you don’t overexert yourself. No one can restore your magical energy once you run out.” 

“It restores itself naturally.” Wonwoo states.

“Yeah, only after a long time.” Jeonghan retorts. “Just promise that you won’t work too hard. There are 12 other people that are more than willing to help you out. Don’t shoulder everything by yourself.” 

“I’ll try my best.” Wonwoo mumbles. He won’t ever let any of the other members help him. It’s not like they could do much anyway. Besides, now he has Minseo, who is actually made to do everything for him. Wonwoo knows that his objectives have changed a little from the beginning of the dream, but he still wouldn’t want to drag any of the other members into the mess that he created. He started it alone, and he’s going to finish it alone. 

~~~

When Wonwoo finally leaves Jeonghan’s side, it’s very, very late. So late that if he finds out that Chan is still awake, he might throw a fit. Mingyu he doesn’t care about as much. He never sleeps anyway. Wonwoo would force Mingyu to go to sleep, but like Jeonghan said, he shouldn’t overcast. Using his magic just to put Mingyu to sleep isn’t necessary. 

Wonwoo cracks the door open slowly, just in case he might wake someone up. Mingyu, as expected, is still on his phone, very much awake. The hostility in his eyes takes Wonwoo by surprise. Mingyu’s memories should’ve gotten wiped again when he got put back into the dream. Maybe it’s just anger at being disturbed. Chan lays next to Mingyu, deep asleep. 

As Wonwoo enters the room, he almost trips twice over his own feet. He makes it to the bed and tries to climb in as lightly as he can. Chan groans in his sleep and flips over to face Wonwoo’s side of the bed. Wonwoo inhales sharply.  _ Please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up… _

Chan stays sleeping, luckily for Wonwoo, who would not hesitate to hurt himself if he had disturbed Chan’s sleep. A quiet snicker comes from Mingyu’s side of the bed. 

“What’s so funny?” Wonwoo whispers. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not laughing at you.” Mingyu replies, just as annoyed as Wonwoo feels. Wonwoo huffs and pulls the covers up to his shoulders. Because his arm is so close to Chan, who is naturally very cuddly, the youngest immediately latches on to it. Not like Wonwoo minds. No one could ever be mad at Chan. It’d be a sin.

Now that he’s more of a sound mind, Wonwoo remembers how he had wiped Chan without a second thought or any remorse. All the guilt hits him now as Chan curls up into Wonwoo’s side, and his stomach tightens into a knot. Chan really does deserve the world. If he ever hurt Chan, then he would no doubt go to hell. Wonwoo turns to his side so Chan can roll up into his chest comfortably. 

Whether if it’s because of something from his phone or because of Wonwoo’s actions, a sharp blast of anger shoots out of Mingyu, although it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared. Better to not ask about it. 

Neither Wonwoo or Mingyu let themselves fall asleep and they’re both lying awake when the sun rises again. Their eyes are still open when Chan starts to stir from his sleep, and when Chan looks at Wonwoo, he flutters his eyes closed. When Wonwoo opens them again, Chan has dozed off again already.

The clock soon reads that it’s eight in the morning. Usually, by this time, either Jeonghan or Jisoo would be making breakfast-- in Jeonghan’s case,  _ trying  _ to make breakfast. But the hallway remains silent, without any trace of sizzling or the ticking of the toaster. Even with Wonwoo’s hearing, he can’t even tell if anyone is awake aside from him and Mingyu. 

Laying in bed until Chan wakes up would be a waste of time, so Wonwoo gently tries to pry Chan off of his arm. Luckily, the youngest doesn’t have a very strong grip, so it’s easy to get him off. He immediately shrivels into an even tinier ball than before and Wonwoo pulls the comforter up to his chin. 

“Where are you going?” Mingyu says as Wonwoo opens the door to leave. 

“On a walk. You’re welcome to come along.” Wonwoo replies. Mingyu doesn’t say anything back, but it’s not like Wonwoo expects him to. Even if his memories are gone, the hate would still be there. There’s no fixing that. 

Wonwoo sets off to the building. Hopefully, Minseo has been holding up okay without him being there. His conversation with Jeonghan last night made Wonwoo forget about checking on her. But Minseo didn’t have much to do. Just make sure that none of the members saw her. It’s pretty simple. If she couldn’t even do that, Wonwoo might have to make another servant, and he really doesn’t want to. It took a lot out of him to make just one servant. 

According to Minseo, everything had been going really well, and Wonwoo will take her word for it. She can’t lie to him anyway. Maybe she doesn’t need him as much as he thinks she does. After all, Minseo was created to make life easier for Wonwoo, not for him to constantly supervise her. She is no doubt capable of carrying out her orders without him watching like a hawk. Plus, Wonwoo has other things to do. He can’t afford to worry about Minseo and her abilities. 

“Did you dispose of the artifact?” Wonwoo asks. Minseo’s face doesn’t show any emotion, as usual. But is it Wonwoo’s imagination that her eyes shake?

“Yes. Everything went smoothly, per your orders.” She replies. “You have no reason to worry, Master Wonwoo.” That word again.  _ Master _ . Wonwoo isn’t supposed to feel so uncomfortable with being called that. 

“Thank you, Minseo.” There’s no point in doubting Minseo. Her nervousness must’ve just been a hallucination. Not enough sleep.

“You have no reason to thank me. I am simply doing what has been requested of me.” Minseo says as she bows. 

“No, I mean it. Thank you.” Wonwoo insists. It’s exhausting to constantly have to stop time in order to do what Wonwoo needs to do, and with Minseo around, it’s already so much easier on him. Making sure that the artifact is disposed of properly would take a lot of work, since you can’t just throw it in a trashcan. You have to make sure that its magical properties are dispelled, which takes a lot of power to do, then you have to find a place to put it that doesn’t betray the fact that there are other people here. 

“You are welcome.” Minseo gives in to Wonwoo’s gratitude. 

“I suppose I’m not needed here for now.” Wonwoo smiles and Minseo stands back up straight. 

“I’m sorry that you had to take time to come back.” She says. “I’ll make sure to work hard in the future as well.” She bows again, and Wonwoo is almost tempted to pat her head.

“Make sure you do.” Wonwoo tells her. Minseo nods and then Wonwoo leaves again. 

When he gets back to the house, it’s nearly 9:30, and if no one is awake, then Wonwoo might start thinking something really is wrong. Typically, only five hours of sleep are needed, and even with the events of yesterday, the most sleep the members need would probably be around seven hours. But it’s been almost nine. Maybe he fucked up with something? It wouldn’t be completely unbelievable. He’s messed up a lot. Wonwoo really wishes that he would stop making mistakes though. 

Fortunately, at least Jisoo is awake when Wonwoo gets back. He has no clue where Jeonghan is, however, and it’s weird because recently Jisoo and Jeonghan have been attached at the hip. Mingyu is also sitting on a bar stool, but the fact that he’s awake comes of no surprise to Wonwoo. He was never asleep in the first place. 

It’s insane how these two can communicate telepathically. The entire time that they’ve been in Wonwoo’s hearing range, he hasn’t heard a single noise come from either of them. Complete silence, but from what Wonwoo can see, just the way they looked at each other spoke volumes. He can’t exactly understand what they’re saying, but he knows that if they refuse to speak out loud, it must be something bad. The silence is deafening, and Wonwoo takes it upon himself to make some noise.

“Where’s everyone else?” Wonwoo asks innocently, but something in the way that Jisoo is looking at him makes him feel like he’s done something wrong.

“Sleeping. Yesterday was a lot.” Jisoo replies, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Wonwoo sees the tan of the bandages through Jisoo’s thin, cheap gray shirt and remembers that he’s probably the cause of that anger. Granted, he knew that making it bleed again would be too much, but messages need to be sent and understood as well. 

“It was. How are your, um, cuts?” Wonwoo tries to peek at Jisoo’s back, but Mingyu moves into the way, whether it be on purpose or without the intent of stopping Wonwoo from even looking at Jisoo. 

“They’ve stopped bleeding, so that’s good, I guess. I don’t know if they’ll start again or not. Weird that they spelled out words and I didn’t notice until after they started bleeding the second time. It felt like someone rearranged them scratches into words and that’s what made them bleed so much.” Jisoo says. A shiver goes up Wonwoo’s spine from how accurate Jisoo’s guess is. It’s like he knows. But he can’t know, because Wonwoo already erased his memory, and if Mingyu had told him again, Wonwoo would’ve heard. 

But then again, before he wiped Mingyu, Mingyu had asked if he could see everything that’s happening in the dream, and Wonwoo had replied with ‘no’. It may be possible that Mingyu had written everything out and given it to Jisoo. But he couldn’t have, because right after he asked Wonwoo, his memory had been erased. There would’ve been no way that he could’ve told Jisoo within the few seconds between the question and the memory wipe. Right? Honestly, Wonwoo doesn’t even know when he’s tripping or not anymore. Everything is just a mess, and Dr. Sungho can’t even come into the dream to help Wonwoo when he needs help. He should’ve waited a little longer until he had completed all of his training and lessons. But if he had, how much more would Jeonghan have broken? How much more damage would Seokmin have to take if he had waited just even a day later to create the dream? 

Wonwoo can doubt everything he wants, but he shouldn’t doubt his own capabilities. It would just be bad for everyone if he started second-guessing everything he did. He’s always been a good decision maker, and he shouldn’t change that now.  _ Just have faith in yourself _ , Wonwoo thinks. 

“That’s very descriptive. I think it’s just a coincidence.” Wonwoo smiles and his mind yells at him.  _ You just told yourself to stop making stupid decisions, why are you saying that it’s a coincidence? That’s so suspicious!  _

“A very weird coincidence. If words can suddenly form from cuts, then what else is gonna happen? Are you gonna tell me that we’re stuck in a fake reality, and someone is actually controlling everything that happens?” Mingyu’s words hit too close to home, and suddenly Wonwoo finds himself wondering again if he messed up on something. More specifically, the wipe. Because he’s already erased Mingyu’s memories twice, and now everything that Mingyu is saying is so accurate it’s scary. Either he’s a very good guesser, or he remembers  _ everything _ . Which shouldn’t be possible. 

“That’s insane. There’s no way that could happen.” Wonwoo emits a fake laugh in order to disperse the hostility behind the other two’s eyes, but it doesn’t seem to work. They share another look that Wonwoo can’t decipher, and when they look back at Wonwoo, all hate or suspicion is gone. Just completely disappeared.

“Yeah, no way that could happen.” Mingyu echoes. Silence envelops the room, and it became so awkward that you could cut the tension with a butter knife. 

Luckily, Jihoon and Soonyoung save Wonwoo from doing anything too reckless by toddling into the kitchen. “Good morning.” Soonyoung yawns. 

“Good morning.” Jisoo puts on his gentle smile, so different from the look that he was giving Wonwoo when discussing his cuts. “Are you hungry?”

“ _ Yes. _ ” The two say in unison.

“I’ll make you something then. That was my original plan anyway. What do you two want?” Jisoo turns to the fridge like nothing had happened just before Soonyoung and Jihoon came in. 

“Anything.” Jihoon replies. Soonyoung nods in agreement.

“As long as I don’t die, then I’ll take anything and everything.” Soonyoung groans as he flops onto a chair in the breakfast nook. 

“Even Jeonghan hyung’s cooking?” Mingyu asks, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Even Jeonghan hyung’s cooking.” Soonyoung affirms. 

“Wow, we have a brave soul here today. I should go wake him up and tell him that his cooking is being requested.” Jisoo laughs as he pulls out a carton of eggs. Even the whole carton won’t be enough for these people who can eat for twenty at the very least. But judging from the quick look of disappointment that Jisoo sends the inside of the fridge, they’re out of eggs. Which is a shame, but Wonwoo was never really fond of them in the first place. He usually gives his share to Chan or someone who wants it.

“I’m not requesting it, I’m just saying that I’d deal with it.” Soonyoung clarifies, and Wonwoo creates another egg carton in the fridge. He gives a mental nudge to Jihoon to go take it out. 

“Oh, Jisoo hyung, you forgot to get this one too.” Jihoon says as he takes out the second box and hands it to Jisoo, whose eyes widen a tiny bit before going back to their regular state.

“Whoops, I must’ve not seen that. Thanks, Jihoon.” Jisoo chuckles to himself. He sets it on the counter next to the other carton and pulls out a pan. Jisoo, having years of experience in making breakfast for the members, doesn’t even need to ask how the members want their egg cooked, probably having each person’s preference ingrained in his mind. 

“Gotta have enough food to feed the army that’s coming any second now.” Jihoon says upon hearing the slamming of doors and the water running in the bathroom upstairs. 

“They’re finally up?” It’s only when Mingyu speaks that Wonwoo realizes that all four people in the kitchen have been ignoring his presence. 

“I guess. Which means you have to work fast, Jisoo hyung.” Soonyoung eyes the kitchen door and Hansol pokes his head in.

“Good morning. Who’s cooking today?” Hansol asks, and Jisoo raises his hand from the stove. “Well, just a warning, Seungkwan is healed and  _ hungry _ , so we have to prepare for that.” 

Jisoo gives him a thumbs up and smiles. “Thanks for the warning, Hansolie.” Hansol returns the gesture and then leaves. 

“Will this be enough for everyone?” Soonyoung asks, and finally, someone acknowledges Wonwoo, and Jihoon pulls out a seat at the breakfast table for Wonwoo to sit. Now there’s another person on his ‘do not hurt’ list. 

“Of course not. That’s why I’m doing this,” Jisoo heaves a huge pot of water onto the stove and gestures to the huge box full of ramen packets on the ground. “At least we’ll have a variety. Mingyu, do me a favor and check what else in left in the fridge.” Mingyu stands up from his bar stool and opens the refrigerator. 

“I don’t know what you can do with a carton of strawberries and dinner food. I mean, there’s ham.” Mingyu pulls out a container holding sliced honey ham, the kind that’s used in sandwiches.

“I’ll make it work. Just give me the ham.” Jisoo holds out his hand and Mingyu plops the container into it. 

“Wonwoo, did you go somewhere? You smell like outside.” Jihoon asks, turning to Wonwoo, whose existence was still being ignored by everyone in the kitchen.

“Yeah, I went on a walk.” Wonwoo replies. 

“Just now? Didn’t you smell the smoke?” Jihoon raises an eyebrow.

“No. What smoke?” Wonwoo guesses that there’s still the bomb smoke lingering, but he genuinely didn’t smell anything.

“There was this faint smell of smoke when I went outside to get some fresh air. But I guess it was just me.” Jihoon shrugs and drops the subject. Wonwoo kind of wants Jihoon to keep on talking to him, since no one else will, but if Jihoon wants to be quiet, then Wonwoo can deal with being invisible. 

Jisoo continues to cook in silence, with the occasional command to Mingyu. Soonyoung, judging from the soft rise and fall of his chest, had probably fallen asleep again. Just before Jisoo finishes, Seokmin walks into the kitchen. Wonwoo is almost surprised by the way that Seokmin is completely healed, until he remembers that he himself had healed Seokmin. 

“Rise and shine, time for wine--oh, is he asleep again?” Seokmin stops to poke Soonyoung’s cheek, and Soonyoung groans quietly.

“I don’t think wine is a good idea at this time of day, Seokmin.” Jisoo scolds, although his voice is light and airy. 

“I’ve been trying to come up with new ways to say ‘good morning’, and that was the one I just came up with. I don’t think it fits me. Maybe it’d suit Minghao better.” Seokmin laughs.

Minghao’s annoyance is evident in his voice as he yells, “Stop treating me like a wine mom!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took almost three weeks? I'll try my best to make updates quicker in the future, please bear with my hectic schedule ._. As always, thanks for reading and please keep lending me your support


	19. 19. Joshua

The expedition yesterday did not go well, and Jisoo knows that Wonwoo knows it too. So he’s hoping that today Wonwoo will let them take it easy. So far this morning, Wonwoo has been very domestic, like even he’s tired. Jisoo can only wish for Wonwoo to take a break and let the members rest, even just for one day, and then he can go back to his usual ways. 

But when has Wonwoo ever given Jisoo anything that he wants? 

Wonwoo had disappeared while Jisoo improvised and threw the ham into a pot of ramen, which never seemed to fail as a breakfast menu, or any menu for that. So the pot is on top of a cloth on the dining room table, along with two large plates that are filled with eggs. 

Seokmin had gone back up to help Chan with something and Jihoon’s eyes are filled with annoyance as he waits for the rest of the members to come downstairs to eat. Meanwhile, Jisoo, Mingyu, and Soonyoung pass the time by playing a game.

“Rat.” Jisoo says after Soonyoung says ‘Tiger’.

“Turtle.” Mingyu says, tapping on the table with his fingers.

“E… e… eel.” Soonyoung replies. 

“Llama.” Jisoo doesn’t waste a second. They had made a bet that whoever lost the game would have to do the dishes after breakfast and lunch, as well as cook lunch. He already made breakfast, and there’s no way in hell that he’s going to deal with the dishes. 

“Um, um, um, aardvark.” Mingyu finally says after hesitation. 

“Kangaroo.” Whether he’s aware of it or not, Soonyoung sets Jisoo up for the kill. 

“Sorry, Mingyu, I have to do it. Oryx.” 

Mingyu’s eyes fill with anxiety as Soonyoung starts the ten second countdown to end Mingyu’s turn and the game. When Soonyoung hits zero, Mingyu groans and slams his head into the table while Soonyoung laughs at his misery and holds his palm out for Jisoo. “Nice, Jisoo hyung.” Jisoo slaps Soonyoung’s hand and smiles. “You kinda deserved it. Aardvark out of all the animals you could’ve chosen.” He half chuckles the last sentence.

“Well, look on the bright side, at least you’re experienced in washing the dishes.” Jisoo tries to comfort Mingyu, patting his back, but he just whines.

“That doesn’t make it any better. How long is it gonna take them to come down anyway?” Mingyu asks as he flips onto his side. “They’re certainly taking their sweet time.”

“They’re just being lazy. Can you blame them? I would love to sleep in, but,” Jisoo sighs, “If Jeonghan didn’t make breakfast, then you all would starve-- don’t look at me like that, Mingyu. We all know that you would still be asleep if I hadn’t waken you up.” Jisoo says as Mingyu’s puppy eyes make an appearance, and then he sticks his tongue out at Jisoo. 

“I don’t think it’s fair that one person has to do the dishes for 26 and cook for 13.” Mingyu complains, and Jihoon puts down his phone, sighing. 

“How about this, you wait for everyone else to come down, make teams, and then the loser has to do all the stuff that you agreed on.” Jihoon says, patting Mingyu’s head. Well, more of hitting than patting. 

“That’s fine with me. Cause I know you’ll still lose, Mingyu.” Soonyoung smirks and Mingyu shoots up.

“Sounds like a challenge. Jisoo hyung, are you in?” Mingyu asks, and Jisoo closes his eyes and sighs. 

“Don’t I get a break? I did the dishes last night and cooked this morning.” Jisoo can feel the burn of judgmental eyes through the darkness and sighs yet again. “Okay, fine. We’ll explain the situation to them when they come down.”

Slowly, the members trickle down the staircase and gather at the table, and abiding by the rule that they have to wait for everyone to come down, they all take a seat at the table while Jisoo waits for the final members to show up before announcing the bet to everyone. Finally, when Seungkwan and Hansol arrive, Jisoo clears his throat announcement-style and stands up. Everyone’s eyes are on him and Jisoo starts.

“So, while you guys were all being lazy butts and taking your sweet time, Mingyu, Soonyoung, and I made a bet. Whoever lost the bet would do the dishes after breakfast and lunch and cook lunch. Mingyu lost, of course,” Mingyu wrinkles his nose, but when Jisoo raises an eyebrow he stops, “and thanks to his whining, Jihoon suggested that we make teams to even the skill level a little bit. So, I’m dragging all of you guys into this.”

“We get to pick our teams?” Chan asks, eyeing Soonyoung, who smiles back mischievously. 

Jisoo looks at Jihoon, who shrugs. “I’d say no, because we only chose to make teams to make it more fair, but if you really want to, then go ahead. I’m not playing though.”

“Okay then. Let’s make teams of four, with me, Mingyu, and Soonyoung as the leaders.”

The other members seem to not care that they were just thrown into something that has nothing to do with them, and they make teams fairly quickly. Seungcheol, Wonwoo, and Hansol team with Mingyu; Chan, Jun, and Minghao are with Soonyoung; Jeonghan, Seokmin, and Seungkwan sit with Jisoo. Jihoon is now the official judge and scorekeeper for their contest on the most creative insults. 

“Okay, everyone do rock, paper, scissors for first go. After you do that, I’ll go over the rules.” Mingyu, Jisoo, and Soonyoung count and then throw. 

“Er, Jihoon, what do we do with this?” Jisoo asks as he analyzes the things that the three of them throw out. Mingyu had thrown rock, Jisoo threw paper, and Soonyoung threw scissors. 

“Just do it again.” Although Jihoon doesn’t say it, Jisoo hears the silent ‘stupid’ at the end of the sentence. 

After a few more rounds, Jisoo finally wins, much to his relief and Mingyu’s and Soonyoung’s annoyance. “Are you finally done? Great, let me go over what you’re doing. Jisoo hyung starts with his team-- anyone can answer as long as everyone agrees with it-- then Soonyoung and his team has ten seconds to say something different. If I deem it not as good as the team before, then Soonyoung’s team will lose a chance. Each team has three chances. First one to lose all three chances loses the game and the bet. Any questions?” 

“Won’t this be biased?” Seungcheol asks, and gets his answer from just looking at Jihoon’s piercing look. 

“Any  _ other  _ questions?” Jihoon turns to the rest of the table, and speaking for himself, Jisoo is too terrified to ask any questions that he has. No one else says anything, and Jihoon sighs and looks at Jisoo. “Okay, hyung, you start.” 

“Soo, I have an idea.” Jeonghan leans over to whisper into Jisoo’s ear. 

“What is it?” Jisoo whispers back. 

“Idiotic gooseberry.” The other three on Jisoo’s team giggle like toddlers when Jeonghan says that and Jisoo sighs. 

“Well, it’s creative.” Jisoo mumbles. “‘A’ for effort, but is that all you guys can think of--”

“Five, four, three--” Jihoon starts the countdown and Jisoo panicks, not having anything except for whatever the hell a gooseberry is.

“Idiotic gooseberry!” Jisoo blurts out, his brain having fizzled out from the sudden stress. The other members’ confusion is evident on their faces, but Hansol laughs at it. 

“Good luck, Soonyoung hyung’s team. Can’t get much worse then a gooseberry. Do you even know what that is?” Hansol smirks at Chan, the only one younger than him and the only one he can be disrespectful to. 

“Do you?” Chan sneers playfully at his hyung, and Hansol sticks his tongue out. 

“I may not know what a gooseberry is, but I know what Mingyu’s team is, and they’re a bunch of rotting bees.” Soonyoung say angrily. Judging from Jun and Minghao’s confused looks that are thrown at Soonyoung, they obviously think that ‘rotting bees’ is not the most creative thing. 

“Ding!” Jihoon says as he hits a spoon against the table. “One chance lost. Mingyu’s team, you’re next.” Jun, Minghao, and Chan groan and hit Soonyoung, who smiles innocently. 

This went on for quite a while, until Mingyu stutters and immediately has his team’s last chance revoked. Soonyoung’s team cheers and so does Jisoo’s own team. Although Mingyu’s team looks a little annoyed, Seungcheol calmly ruffles Mingyu’s hair. “It’s okay; you did well.” Mingyu smiles at his hyung and Jisoo feels his heart warm a little more. “Alright, that’s finally done. Can we eat yet?” 

Cheers of happiness come from everyone except Wonwoo. A small smile spreads across even Jihoon’s face. The members, having not eaten anything for eight whole hours, dig in like they had been starved their entire lives. At one point, Jisoo even has to go make more food. While Wonwoo may be an ass, at least he resupplies the fridge with food when they need it. If it isn’t for the fact that their every move is being watched, Jisoo might’ve compared the place to an all-inclusive hotel. Free food, no worries about work, and as an added plus, they don’t even have to pay to stay. 

Even though Mingyu has three others to help him, watching the younger’s face when he sees the sink wrenches Jisoo’s heart into a shape he can’t describe. So of course, he leaves Jeonghan on the couch to help the others clean. It  _ is  _ incredibly hard to clean a pigsty. 

After that, Jisoo heads back to his room, alone, since Jeonghan had opted to stay in the family room and watch shows with the maknae line. But it doesn’t take long for Mingyu to poke his head into the door and smile at Jisoo. Jisoo returns the gesture, causing Mingyu to come in and flop down into the crack between the beds. 

“Thanks for helping with the dishes, hyung. As much as I love Seungcheol hyung and Hansollie, they’re not the best with cleaning. And Wonwoo, well, I’ve never seen him do anything, so it’s hard to tell.”

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t have much of a choice, seeing how pitiful you were standing in front of all that,” Jisoo laughs at the younger. “Are the other three on cooking duty?” Mingyu nods to the best of his ability, having his entire body squashed by the two mattresses on both sides of him. “How is that even comfortable? I hate being in the middle because I just sink down and when I wake up, the other two are practically on top of me.”

“It’s cause you’re so skinny, hyung. Start working out more, gain more muscle, and you won’t die.” Mingyu laughs at him. 

“Not everyone has that kind of dedication. Besides, usually we just make Jeonghan go in the middle,” Jisoo replies. “He’s the most cuddly anyway.” 

“If you say so.” Mingyu gives Jisoo a look that can’t mean anything except something that happens when the moon is high in the sky.

“Don’t. I know where your imagination is going, but it’s in the wrong place.” Jisoo hits Mingyu’s forehead with his own phone and Mingyu laughs again. 

“If you say so.” 

~~~

Wonwoo must’ve heard his prayers, because for the rest of the day, nothing happens. It’s such a difference from the mess of yesterday that Jisoo can’t help but feel that Wonwoo will do even more tomorrow. As he lays on the edge of the bed, fantasies swirl throughout his head of being able to convince Wonwoo to let them back out into the real world, without any violence. As twisted as Wonwoo’s methods are, Jisoo knows that Wonwoo is only doing what he’s doing because he didn’t think there was another way. 

Jisoo wants him to know that there is another way. One that involves talking it out. 

When Jeonghan pulls his shirt, Jisoo is brought back to reality, and in the arms of his best friends, sleep quickly overcomes him.  _ What happens happens. _

~~~

A shudder goes up Jisoo’s spine, and he wakes up feeling out of place, once again. When he opens his eyes, he realizes that this is not the same place that he fell asleep in. As soon as Jisoo picks up his phone, a text comes from Mingyu, somewhat confirming Jisoo’s theories that had been made in mere seconds. 

Jisoo had thought they had been moved up a level, but according to Mingyu’s rapid texts, it’s still L2, just another part. Apparently, it’s not possible for Wonwoo to move them to another level unless everyone is feeling content with where they are right now, and neither Mingyu nor Jisoo is happy with L2. 

Jisoo crawls out of Jeonghan and Seungcheol’s arms that have been placed on top of him during the night and slips on a pair of socks to combat the freezing cold floor. He peeks out of the room and sees a long, long hallway, with a single exit at the end of it. It’s dimly lit with only a few lights every other door. 

A silhouette sits in silence on a bench next to the exit, and the breathing patterns that become more evident to Jisoo as he walks belong to Mingyu. 

“Mingyu?” Jisoo softly calls when he’s in hearing distance. Mingyu’s lean body turns to face Jisoo, and he smiles at his hyung. “Hey.” 

“Hi, hyung.” Mingyu waves and scoots over a little bit so there’s room on the bench for Jisoo to sit down. “It’s a weird place this time around, isn’t it?” Mingyu mumbles as quietly as possible.

“I’m sure there’s a reason. Did you get the new set of memories?” Jisoo asks. He guesses that Wonwoo had been messing up a lot lately, because the past two times that Wonwoo had replaced the others’ memories, Jisoo hadn’t gotten anything. 

“Yeah, apparently the other house got flooded so we moved here, to the town that was across the river. It’s believable, I guess.” 

“Are you okay? Was he in the room?” Jisoo leans in a little more and sees faint tear streams on Mingyu’s cheeks. 

“I’m fine, I just had a realization that maybe I can’t do this. Maybe I should just let him do what he wants, because as much as I hate it, you have to realize at one point that we are closer than before. We’re able to get through a crisis without arguing with one another. That was the whole point of this, wasn’t it? It’s working, and maybe if it works for a little longer, we can… we can go.” Mingyu stares at the window in the door of the exit longingly. 

Jisoo hates it. He hates that Mingyu is right. That as warped as Wonwoo’s idea is, it has accomplished what Wonwoo wants it to do. But there’s no guarantee that Wonwoo  _ will  _ let them out. Having unlimited power, having the power of a god, that’s something that no one would ever want to let go of. It’s something that would corrupt even the most pure of souls. 

He can’t say anything to Mingyu except ask, “How long have you been up?” 

“Days.” Mingyu says without skipping a beat. 

“You should go to sleep then.” Jisoo knows that Mingyu can’t see his widened eyes in the darkness.

Mingyu laughs bitterly. “Once I figure everything out, I will.”

Jisoo takes Mingyu’s hand and squeezes it. “Don’t forget, you have me, and you will always have me. Don’t take it all on by yourself. It won’t end well.” 

“Don’t worry.” Mingyu squeezes back and leans his head on Jisoo’s shoulder. “I won’t cause any trouble.”

_ I don’t care about you making trouble; I care about you _ , Jisoo thinks, but for some strange reason, the words don’t come out of his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so sorry this sucks. I tried to get one out during this week because I won't be able to later ㅠㅠ school is stressful  
> Please continue to support me! Comments and kudos really help me keep going, and thank you for reading!


	20. 20. Mingyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of exploring the new building. Make sure not to go into empty rooms.

Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Chan, per their curious nature, set off to explore the new place as soon as they wake up. Jeonghan wants them to eat first, but upon realizing that he has no clue where the kitchen is, lets them go. Mingyu is reluctantly forced to go with them by Seungcheol. A steely look from his hyung makes him immediately swallow all thoughts of rebelling, and now, here Mingyu is, slowly trudging along behind Soonyoung and Jihoon, who had been forced to tag along by Soonyoung’s incessant begging. Seokmin and Chan had taken off separately with Seungkwan as soon as Seungcheol gave them the okay.

Soonyoung’s excited chattering fills the halls, only replied to with small smiles from Jihoon, and somehow, Mingyu starts thinking that in the real world, he hasn’t seen them this happy in months. Ever since Wonwoo made the dream, slowly but surely, the members were becoming happier. It makes him think that maybe he doesn’t need to do anything. If even Jihoon is beginning to start warming up to Soonyoung, then maybe this isn’t a bad thing. Maybe Mingyu is the bad guy for wanting this to end. 

Jihoon’s soft voice comes toward Mingyu and he snaps his head up to look at his hyung. “Mingyu? Are you okay? You seem out of it.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Mingyu nods. Jihoon raises a suspicious brow, but doesn’t say anything else. 

“What’s this room?” Soonyoung asks in surprise as he flings open a door and peers inside. Mingyu catches up to the pair in front of him and looks at what Soonyoung is looking at. The room is painted with a light tan, a dozen computers lined up in the middle of the room. Along the walls, tapes for old movies and disc packages are lined up neatly in shelves accented with orange. 

“A video making room?” Jihoon notes the letters on the wall that spell out ‘Specialized Video Technology’. 

“Seems like it. Is this a film making building? We were never really told what exactly this place was used for before we moved in.” Mingyu taps his chin with his finger. Wonwoo’s magic seems to be evolving with each passing day. It’s always something more extravagant than the day before. Can Mingyu really do anything about this?

“I mean, it’s still drier than the other house. It’s weird that the river suddenly flooded after 20 years, but we’re lucky that Hansol knew enough about the town to let us know where we could stay.” Jihoon remarks as he steps gingerly into the room, a voice in his mind telling him to avoid strange places. Mingyu assumes that the memories from the building hadn’t been completely erased. The pages of the ripped memory books still linger in Jihoon’s mind, loose shreds in dusty shelves filled with neat, typed books instead of the messy handwritten ones that are made by oneself. 

“I guess going out helps. You should do it more often, Jihoon.” Soonyoung laughs as he follows Jihoon, and is quickly hit by the shorter. Something on Soonyoung’s face tells Mingyu that his hyung enjoys it. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t go in.” Mingyu says nervously as he eyes at a radio that rests in the middle of the room. There’s a sort of darkness radiating from the countless buttons that decorate the sides. 

“Relax, Mingyu. There can’t be anything bad. No one else is here, so why should we be scared? What, is something gonna blow up if we step on the wrong tile?” Soonyoung has no clue that that’s exactly what happened just the other day, and if Mingyu wasn’t so terrified of what Wonwoo can do, he may have laughed. 

“I don’t think that’ll happen. Even if it did, Mingyu would save us, right?” Jihoon smirks at Mingyu, whose face heats up.

“I’ll try my best, hyung.” He mutters. If his hyungs need to be saved, then Mingyu has no choice in the matter. Although still cautious of the radio, Mingyu follows his hyungs into the room, watching each step that his feet take. He gets closer and closer to the strange device as Soonyoung and Jihoon explore the room, and with every inch closer comes a new wave of fear. 

“What’s that?” Soonyoung suddenly asks from behind Mingyu. Mingyu barely has time to register the question before Soonyoung is zooming past him to the radio. 

He takes one more step toward the object and instantly knows why there are weird vibes coming off of the thing. Fear grips his heart as he sees Soonyoung’s hand come closer to the buttons. “Wait, hyung, don’t touch--” Too little, too late. 

Even with a little feather touch, Soonyoung falls to the ground as he is shown the ugly truth of their reality. Although Mingyu is much closer to Soonyoung than Jihoon, Jihoon is already shooting across the room before Mingyu can reach Soonyoung. Soonyoung’s body falls limp after a few seconds of clenching his fingers through his hair, and Jihoon’s eyes grow wide with panic. 

“Soonyoung?” Jihoon whispers, grabbing the other’s shoulder. “Please tell me this is a joke.” Even though Jihoon usually hates being pranked by Soonyoung, it makes sense that he would rather be pranked than have it real. Mingyu kneels next to his hyungs and scoops Soonyoung into his arms. 

“We have to go back. Now. We have to hurry.” Mingyu stands up with Soonyoung, while Jihoon takes another second. “Hyung.” It wouldn’t be good for them when Wonwoo shows up. If they hurry back, then they can be safe for a little longer. 

Jihoon finally stands up, and the both of them start running. Mingyu can easily feel the suspicious, frantic look on his back as Jihoon runs behind him, but that’s something that he can deal with later. The priority right now is Soonyoung, who is only in danger because of Mingyu’s inability to recognize the artifact that was right in front of him. 

If they had been even a step farther from the members, maybe Wonwoo might’ve been able to do something. But Jisoo is conveniently in the hallways and Mingyu feels Wonwoo’s presence slowly fade away from behind them. 

“Soonyoung? What happened?” Jisoo asks. Although Mingyu hadn’t prepared anything to reply to that, Jihoon, in his panic, had. 

“He just touched some radio thing and went down. I don’t know what it was, I don’t know why--” Jisoo stops Jihoon before he can ramble anymore with a soft hand on the younger’s shoulder. 

“Jihoon, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, not at all, okay? We’re gonna find out what happened, just make sure to tell everyone to stay away from whatever room you were in. Mingyu, bring him to his room. We’ll figure it out there.” Jisoo instructs. Jihoon sends one last look at Soonyoung’s unconscious body and then leaves to warn the rest of the group. 

Soonyoung and Jihoon’s room is right across the hall from where Mingyu and Jisoo stand, and it takes no effort to get Soonyoung into bed. They both pull out their phones and begin to text on there. 

shua: what really happened out there

the beanpole™: the ‘radio thing’ was an artifact  
the beanpole™: i didn’t realize that it was until after soonyoung hyung touched it  
the beanpole™: i’m sorry

shua: don’t be. you did nothing wrong. at least now we know

the beanpole™: but what about wonwoo  
the beanpole™: won’t he be hunting soonyoung hyung

shua: lucky for us that soonyoung is never alone then. when you touched the glass, how long were you out for?

the beanpole™: i don’t know  
the beanpole™: a few minutes maybe  
the beanpole™: but minseo was able to get me inside while i was out so it must’ve been a while

Soonyoung’s stirring startles the two away from their conversation. His eyes slowly open as he checks his surroundings. Before Soonyoung can say anything, Mingyu presses a finger to his own lips, signalling for his hyung to be silent. Jisoo quickly types something onto his phone and then shows it to Soonyoung. ‘We might not be able to keep your new memories safe, but we will try. Make sure that you are around at least two other members at all times’. Soonyoung nods hesitantly. 

He mouths ‘why are we not talking’ and Mingyu replies with ‘because Wonwoo can hear us’. Soonyoung seems to understand and drops the subject. “Where’s Jihoon?” Soonyoung asks. 

“He’s gone to tell the other members to not go into the room that you were just in. How do you feel?” Jisoo says. Soonyoung drags himself to a sitting position. 

“Like nothing happened. I just remember the radio and then black.” Soonyoung replies, trying to play it safe and hide his new memories. 

“Nothing hurts, not your head or anything?” Jisoo pries, and Soonyoung shakes his head. “That’s good. Since nothing is wrong with you, let’s just not tell the others about it and if anything weird starts happening, you tell me or Mingyu, okay?” Soonyoung nods in affirmation right before Jihoon comes back in, suspicion radiating off of him as he looks at Mingyu. However, upon seeing Soonyoung awake, the wariness drops off of his face. 

Although he tries to hide it, Jihoon is obviously euphoric as he walks to Soonyoung. “Hey.” He says softly. 

“Hey.” Soonyoung smiles at his roommate, and Jihoon returns the gesture. 

“How’re you?” Jihoon takes Soonyoung’s hand in his own and squeezes it, something that Mingyu only notices because of Jihoon’s pale skin becoming almost ivory with the loss of circulation. 

“Let’s leave them be.” Jisoo whispers to Mingyu. Before leaving the room, Jisoo makes eye contact with Soonyoung and gestures to his ears, a warning in case Soonyoung wants to tell Jihoon anything. 

“Oh, Hansol, have Seokmin, Chan, and Seungkwan come back yet?” Jisoo asks the younger who appears in the hallway with Minghao. 

“Not yet, hyung. Why?” Hansol tilts his head, a trivial motion that Mingyu knows is Hansol’s small little habit. 

“Ah, well, someone needs to know where the kitchen is before we can eat anything. I don’t understand why Seungkwan is up and about so soon after he got better. He’s not even completely healed yet. Why didn’t we stop him?” Jisoo asks himself. “Anyway, have you seen Jeonghan?” 

“He’s in his room, I think.” Minghao replies. “Wonwoo said something about him ‘taking a break’. I wasn’t really listening, sorry.”  _ Wonwoo? _

“You’re fine. How about we do some exploring of our own?” Jisoo suggests, a mischievous smile spreading across his usually gentle features. 

“I don’t know… it sounds fun, but I don’t think I want to deal with that right now.” Hansol sighs. “I’m just tired.”

“Oh, okay then. We’ll just wait for the other three to come back and tell us what they found. If they don’t know where the kitchen is, then all 13 of us will go have a field trip.” Jisoo shrugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter that I kind of threw up in a day.  
> I've been debating this for a while, but I'm starting to think about discontinuing this book honestly. I keep getting distracted and destroying myself on my writing, but until I make the final decision, I'll keep trying my best. Please continue to support until then!


	21. 21. Wonwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonwoo fixes some 'mistakes' and then tries tp take care of other things, such as parent line.

And with that final touch, Wonwoo is done gettting rid of the stupid chain that allowed people to only move up a level when everyone was comfortable. Mingyu and Jisoo may not remember exactly what happened, but they know that something is off, and that’s stopping the other members from having their own adventures. It’s all practice anyway. A simulation that is supposed to let the members know how to react in a crisis, and how to deal with life without 12 other people to help. 

Instantly after the chain linking the members together is destroyed, he feels two presences slip away from the second level. The group is going to suffer incredibly with the loss of their two oldest hyungs, but better here than in the real world, where you can’t hit restart. Better here than in the real world, where you can lose everything important to you within seconds. 

Minghao and Hansol come down to the bench where Wonwoo is sitting. “Hey, hyung, did you feel that weird chill? Is there a window open somewhere?” Hansol asks. “It wasn’t just me, Minghao hyung felt it too.” Wonwoo shakes his head. 

“I still have yet to see a window in these hallways, so I don’t think it’s the windows that’s the problem. Maybe you both caught Seungkwan’s cold at the same time.” Wonwoo reasons, but he knows that the link breaking is definitely the cause of the chill. “We already know that Minghao gets sick easily, and Hansol, you practically never left Seungkwan’s side while he was sick, so it’s likely that you both caught something.”

“Maybe. Where’s Jeonghan hyung? He’s usually good at telling if we’re sick or not.” Hansol’s innocent question makes Wonwoo’s skin go cold, but he doesn’t let his smile break.

“He’s sleeping. Didn’t wanna be disturbed.” Wonwoo lies through his teeth. 

“Oh, okay, do you mind getting us when he wakes up?” Minghao asks in his gentle voice. 

“Yeah, no problem. Just take care of yourselves, okay? Don’t get sick.” Wonwoo forces his smile to go even wider as Minghao and Hansol turn to leave. Those two will definitely suffer if they know where exactly Jeonghan and Seungcheol are. The feeling that Wonwoo had when he first made the dream starts creeping back into his chest. Hate. Hate for himself for letting this all happening, for wanting it to happen. 

It makes sense that Mingyu hates him. But Wonwoo does wish that Mingyu would understand. He wishes that Mingyu could see into his mind and see his train of thought. How Wonwoo isn’t completely at fault-- ah, who is Wonwoo kidding? Mingyu is never, ever going to love him the way he did before. Even without Mingyu’s knowledge of the truth, the hostility had been ingrained into his mind, and it’s never going to go away. 

And then a shiver goes down his body, and he sighs in exasperation. “Can’t these people give me a break?” Wonwoo says to no one in particular. He listens carefully to find the artifact that he had forgotten to pay attention to and with much difficulty, finds the room in which whoever touched the artifact was in. Whoever they are, they are certainly doing an amazing job of keeping silent. 

Unfortunately, by the time that Wonwoo tracks down Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Mingyu, they’ve already been found by Jisoo, a member that Wonwoo would rather not try anything in front of. So although waiting would give Soonyoung more opportunity to talk, Wonwoo has no choice but to go to the room where the artifact was. 

It’s an ugly room, Wonwoo realizes when he sees the dull tan painted on the walls with bright orange accents. He randomly generated all the rooms except for the bedrooms, and this one had obviously not won the design lottery. 

Wonwoo quickly identifies the artifact in the middle of the room and walks over to it. It’s seemingly harmless, just a small radio that seems a bit outdated, but not by much. But nothing else in the dream other than the bottle gives off the vibes that this does. Wonwoo picks it up into his arms and hopes that no one will realize that he’s gone. 

Getting to the building where Minseo is takes less than a second, and she isn’t startled at all when Wonwoo suddenly appears in front of her. She simply gives Wonwoo a curt bow and then looks at the radio that Wonwoo is honestly struggling to keep a hold of. 

“Do you require assistance, Wo-- Master Wonwoo?” Did Minseo almost call him by his first name only? Doesn’t matter. Being called ‘Master’ is weird anyway. 

“I do. Just take the other side.” Wonwoo pushes the radio off of his chest a little bit so Minseo has some leverage. Minseo latches on to the bottom and Wonwoo feels some relief at the weight being taken away. “Let’s bring it to the porch.” 

The two sort of hobble back and forth until they reach the door that leads out. Wonwoo forces it open with a single thought and they place the radio on a table that Minseo may or may not have taken from the lobby. It’s convenient, so Wonwoo doesn’t mind the decor. 

“What should we do with it now?” Minseo asks, silent breaths escaping her mouth that Wonwoo wouldn’t have noticed if he didn’t have super hearing. 

“Get rid of it, preferably. I mean, as long as it’s intact, it’s a danger to the balance of the dream.” Wonwoo shrugs at her. 

“But isn’t it much harder to destroy a radio of this size than a glass bottle? How are you planning to do this?” Minseo looks mildly puzzled, but it’s not like Wonwoo knows exactly how he’s going to do it either. 

“Smashing it is the best bet we have.” Wonwoo holds his hand out and a black, metal bat appears in it with a single thought. “Let’s just get this over with. I’ll need you to dispose of it, because I have to go back right after this just in case the members start wondering where I am.” Minseo nods in acknowledgement and Wonwoo turns to the radio. 

Jihoon had taught him how to use a bat. The proper form and how to swing while getting the most power possible. Wonwoo wants to get this over with quickly, and the speed that he uses to swing pulls on his arms and threatens to yank them out of their sockets. The small pieces that fly off the radio barely miss Wonwoo’s face, but judging by the tiny cut that lies right beneath Minseo’s right eye, she isn’t as lucky. 

“Sorry about that. You can take care of things from here, right?” Wonwoo asks. 

“You have no need to worry, Master Wonwoo. Just go back to your members. I can take care of everything.” Minseo bows and Wonwoo has to overcome the urge to pat her head. 

“Alright, thank you, Minseo.” Wonwoo teleports back to the building where the members are without any worries about how capable Minseo is. 

Wonwoo expects the other members to not be affected at all by Jeonghan’s absence, because he usually sleeps in, but Seungcheol’s absence is something not even Wonwoo likes. The eldest is on the verge of falling a level deeper, and it’s still the situation from earlier. Something is holding him back. It might be the subconscious just reminding their leader that he has other people that he needs to take care of. But he won’t be coming back. As soon as one falls, that’s it unless they wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss parent line already ;-; Get better soon Jeonghan and Seungcheol. 
> 
> My chapters are going to be a lot shorter, and the point of views starting from next chapter will start to be other members besides just Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Jisoo. I was planning to release this on Christmas, but I felt bad for making you guys wait so long. Don't worry though, I'll release another chapter on Christmas too.
> 
> Thanks for putting up with my indecisive ass, thanks for all the support, I really thought about continuing this book and if I hadn't posted it on here, then I definitely would've deleted all my drafts ;-; I appreciate everything. I realize now that I seriously don't want to end this book until it reaches the actual end. Please wait. and please continue supporting me! I love you all!


	22. 22. Seungcheol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol wakes up and everything is dark.

Seungcheol had just woken up when he was suddenly somewhere different. Where there was warmth before from Jeonghan, there is only the biting cold of loneliness. Where there was a dim light shining through the small window in the corner of the room, there is only darkness. There’s nothing soft beneath him anymore, but there’s nothing hard on his back. He’s just floating through the darkness. An intimidating darkness that makes Seungcheol feel like he’s done something wrong. 

There’s two doors that he sees. One promises safety and comfort, but the other seems to be closer to the members. However, it doesn’t have the members. Where are they? Where is he? Seungcheol starts to try and flail around to get himself upright, but he can’t move unless toward one of the doors. Neither option seems preferable. Neither option has the members. If he goes to the one that radiates a tenth of the warmness that Jihoon has, he won’t be close enough to the rest of them. They’d be out of his reach either way. 

Out of the door that promises comfort comes a slightly exasperated voice. “Why did he break the link but not tell me? Yes, I figured it out, but now I have to go through every single one just to make sure that his members are safe. Should he not tell me? I have a right to know, do I not?” A head pokes out of the door and a feminine body then steps out. “Oh? Seungcheol-sshi?” 

Although Seungcheol can’t even sit up straight, the girl has no problem sort of floating towards him. His eyes widen in surprise, and the girl raises his hands innocently. “I am no threat, Seungcheol-sshi. I’m here to help. My name is Minseo. I am a servant created by Master Wonwoo to help aid him in monitoring this dream. From here, I can either guide you to the fourth or fifth levels, but unfortunately, neither of those levels have your fellow members. If you wish to see a member, you must either go back to the second level or go forward to the sixth.” Minseo says.  _ What? _

“What in the hell does that mean? Levels? Dream? What does Wonwoo have to do with this?” Seungcheol spits. 

“Perhaps it would be easier to show you.” Minseo pulls a piece of glass out of her pocket and lightly presses it against the bare skin of Seungcheol’s palm. Everything that Seungcheol had forgotten comes back to him, and even things that Seungcheol didn’t know prior, like Mingyu and Jisoo’s alliance to wake the members up, the creation of the dream, the erasure of the memories of so many members, including his own. Seungcheol wants to slice his arm off for not realizing how much pain everyone has gone through. 

“So I’m in between levels 4 and 5 right now? Who is in Level 6?” Seungcheol asks the servant girl as she pockets the shard. 

“Yoon Jeonghan, I think his name is. He is quickly falling deeper and deeper into the level, and if no one is able to stop him soon, even Master Wonwoo will have trouble waking him up.” Minseo speaks so nonchalantly that Seungcheol’s stomach turns upside down.

“He… he won’t be able to leave?” Seungcheol stutters. 

“It is entirely possible for him to get out, but not without difficulty. Don’t become discouraged.” Minseo says. “It’s just the longer that it takes for someone to open an exit, the harder it will be.”

“Who can open an exit?” Seungcheol tries once again to sit up, but like every other time, he just stays on his back, floating through empty space. 

“Anyone who has the magical power and knows how to.” Minseo notices Seungcheol’s discomfort and frowns. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but unless you wish to run the risk of being heard by Master Wonwoo, this is the only place we can talk safely.” 

“Why are you helping me?” Seungcheol asks. “If you’re Wonwoo’s servant, shouldn’t you be reporting everything to him?” 

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he messed up in my creation. I can feel it very well myself. The reason I’m helping you is, in short, Master Wonwoo is scared. So scared that he can’t even think rationally. Frankly, I’m scared for him as well. Master Wonwoo has expressed how much he loves you all very often, and he has emphasized the fact that he would do anything for you. I’ve been hoping that if I tell you everything, then perhaps you can bring him back to his normal state of mind.”

“Even Mingyu couldn’t do it. What chance do I have, Minseo?” Seungcheol asks. 

“It’s a better chance than I have. Do you suppose that Master Wonwoo would listen to someone that should never question him? Mingyu is trying to keep his memories, so are Jisoo, Soonyoung, and now even Jihoon. I understand that it’s a lot to ask of you, I know that this is a lot to take in. But if this does not end, Master Wonwoo will continue to shrivel into himself. He will become even less stable and this dream will crumble. I will do all I can to aid you and your members.” Minseo floats right next to Seungcheol and pulls something out of her hair. 

It’s a flower. A small, simple orange flower that fits perfectly with her pitch black hair. Seungcheol quickly realizes that it’s the kind that grows in the front yard of their real house. “What’s that for?” He asks as he eyes it. 

“It’ll help you. It’s going to bring you back to L2, with all your members bar Jeonghan. Then you can tell them everything you know. Just know that you can’t speak out loud about it, otherwise Master Wonwoo will hear, and your memories will be erased again.” Minseo warns. “Are you prepared?” Seungcheol nods. “I wish you the best of luck, and please. Take good care of Master Wonwoo. He’s just confused.” He nods again and Minseo reaches out to place the flower on his forehead. 

The gentleness of the wind sweeps him away to another sleep, and Seungcheol hopes that Wonwoo doesn’t do anything too bad to Minseo when he finds out what she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate it! It has been officially one year since I started writing this book, eight months since I started writing it digitally and around five months since I put it on AO3! Thank you for all the support, and please accept my shitty attempt at a Christmas gift!


	23. 23. Soonyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soonyoung can never keep a secret from Jihoon.

When Soonyoung wakes up, it’s silent except for the soft breaths of Mingyu and Jisoo as they text on their phones. The brightness of the screen illuminates both their faces and Soonyoung makes some noise so that they know that he’s awake. They snap their heads to Soonyoung and instantly Mingyu signals for Soonyoung to not say anything. Jisoo types something quickly into his phone and then flashes it toward Soonyoung. ‘We might not be able to keep your new memories safe, but we will try. Make sure that you are around at least two other members at all times’.

Ah. Those memories. How had Soonyoung been stupid enough to ignore Mingyu’s warnings from days ago? How had he been stupid enough to not realize that Wonwoo had changed?

“Where’s Jihoon?” Soonyoung mumbles, pushing thoughts of his own uselessness to the back of his head. The only thing he needs right now is to know that Jihoon hadn’t suffered while he was out.

“He’s gone to tell the other members to not go into the room that you were just in. How do you feel?” Jisoo replies, and Soonyoung feels a wave of relief wash over him. He drags himself to sit up, trying to not worsen his headache. 

“Like nothing happened. I just remember the radio and then black.” Soonyoung kind of wishes that he didn’t know anything. It might’ve been easier staying clueless, but now that he knows, he’s going to do anything he can to protect his knowledge. If he can do anything to help Mingyu, who had been alone for so long, then he’ll make sure that nothing goes wrong on his end. 

“Nothing hurts, not your head or anything?” Jisoo leans forward. Though he has a pounding headache, Soonyoung shakes his head, but Mingyu stares at him knowingly. “That’s good. Since nothing is wrong with you, let’s just not tell the others about it and if anything weird starts happening, you tell me or Mingyu, okay?” Jihoon opens the door and pokes his head in. His immediate reaction toward Mingyu is suspicion, but his gaze softens when he and Soonyoung make eye contact. 

Soonyoung really wishes that those hard, unfeeling eyes would come back right now. If Jihoon keeps looking so caring, then Soonyoung will definitely tell the shorter everything that he knows. 

“Hey.” Jihoon gently says, his walk changing to something less hostile than what it is usually. 

“Hey.” Soonyoung sends a smile his roommate's way, and just slightly, Jihoon’s lips curve up. 

“How’re you?” Jihoon sits on the bed and latches onto Soonyoung’s hand. Oh, this is not going to go well. Soonyoung’s will to keep everything a secret is crumbling more with each second that he’s looking into Jihoon’s eyes. 

Jisoo whispers something to Mingyu before the two of them stand up and leave, leaving Soonyoung alone with Jihoon, who’s becoming increasingly more concerned at Soonyoung’s quietness. “I’m okay.”

“You’re okay?” Soonyoung knows that Jihoon wants to raise an eyebrow and make a sarcastic comment, but the shorter refrains from saying anything else. He has enough decency to know when Soonyoung doesn’t want to talk about anything. 

“I’m fine.” Soonyoung looks down. He can’t keep looking into Jihoon’s eyes like this. He’s very, very weak, and if this continues, he’s going to cave in and do exactly what got Jisoo’s memories wiped before. He can’t do that to Jihoon. It has already happened to Seungcheol, Jisoo, and Mingyu. If it happens to Jihoon and Soonyoung is the cause, well then, is he really worthy of living? 

“Okay. Can you at least tell me what happened in there? Why did you faint so suddenly?” Jihoon’s hesitance easily registers in Soonyoung’s head. His roommate knows that he’s pushing boundaries that the both of them had set when they first started becoming close, when they first began developing feelings for each other. They know to not pry into anything that the other person is uncomfortable with, but Jihoon is just slightly crossing that boundary. But honestly, if it’s Jihoon, Soonyoung would let anything and everything slide. 

“I wish I could say I knew.” Soonyoung knows as soon as those words leave his mouth that Jihoon is going to call bullshit immediately. Soonyoung never talks like this. 

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon says warmly, “just tell me. I won’t tell anyone else, I won’t judge; you of all people should know that I won’t.”

Soonyoung bites his lip. He doesn’t want to put Jihoon into any danger, but with that tone, what can he do? He’s weak. “I need you to be quiet about this. Like, don’t talk about it. At all. If you have questions, then don’t you dare ask them out loud. You text either me or Mingyu or Jisoo hyung, but no matter what, you do not speak about this.” Soonyoung whispers directly into Jihoon’s ear. If Wonwoo’s hearing is really as good as the artifact showed him, then even this is a risk. Soonyoung knows that this is probably a bad idea, but if Jihoon wants to know, then who is he to say no?

“What--” Jihoon starts, but Soonyoung gives him no time to say anything else. Soonyoung gets out of his bed and signals for Jihoon to follow him.  _ Wonwoo should be busy getting rid of the artifact right now, so we have a little time,  _ Soonyoung thinks as he heads for Jisoo’s room. The artifact had showed him exactly where Jisoo keeps the packet of papers that contained all the information that Soonyoung couldn’t give to Jihoon by himself. 

As soon as Soonyoung has the papers, he takes off again for a more open space. Wonwoo would never try anything in such an open space. Since both Seokmin and Chan are gone right now, they need all the protection they can get. Jisoo and Mingyu had disappeared to who knows where, but Soonyoung isn’t in the mood to find them right now. What matters right now is making sure that Jihoon doesn’t say anything. Soonyoung is already taking a huge risk just telling Jihoon this; he can’t have his roomate getting his memory wiped because of something Soonyoung did. 

Soonyoung flops down onto a couch and Jihoon takes a seat next to him, still keeping silent. Holding out the papers for Jihoon to take, Soonyoung really hopes that Wonwoo isn’t watching.  _ He’s probably itching to wipe my mind.  _ Jihoon raises an eyebrow at Soonyoung before diverting his attention to the packet in his hands. With each word that Jihoon reads, Soonyoung can see the other’s eyes cycle through confusion, disbelief, panic, and even anger. 

“Soonyoung, what is this?” Jihoon can’t stop himself from speaking as his brain tries to process everything. Soonyoung bites his lip and pulls out his phone to begin typing, just like Jisoo and Mingyu do whenever they need to talk about something. Jihoon remembers that he can’t say anything out loud and silences himself. On his notes app, Soonyoung types out the words ‘If you need time to take it all in, then that’s understandable. You asked what happened, and this is what I saw. That radio was an artifact, and it showed me everything that Wonwoo has done, everything that Mingyu and Jisoo hyung have done, everything that has happened since the dream was created’.

Jihoon crinkles his forehead and the confusion shines through even more than before. He mouths ‘Well, what are we supposed to do? Even with all the people who do know, we can’t do anything’. 

Shrugging and then turning back to his phone, Soonyoung types again. ‘I don’t know. Maybe Seungcheol hyung would know what to do.’ And then Soonyoung remembers that Seungcheol is gone. Wherever he is right now, he can’t help his members back on L2. So unless something happens that brings Seungcheol back, they’re kind of on their own. Mingyu and Jisoo hadn’t made any progress, so what chance did Soonyoung and Jihoon have? 

Having no clue that Seungcheol and Jeonghan had left them, Jihoon stands up and makes a gestures that Soonyoung understands as ‘Let’s go then’, nodding toward the direction of Seungcheol’s room. Soonyoung finds that he doesn’t have the heart to tell Jihoon himself as he follows the shorter. When Jihoon opens the door and sees that no one is in there, he blinks a few times in confusion and then sighs, turning back around. 

Soonyoung spots Hansol in the hall before Jihoon does, and although Jihoon obviously wants to ask about Seungcheol, Hansol’s dazed look makes him shut his mouth. Staring into space, the younger’s eyes are covered with a thin film, making it look like he’s on the verge of crying. Jihoon’s urge to find Seungcheol is easily overcome by his instinct to take care of Hansol. 

“Hey, Hansol. What’s up?” The question seems playful, but Jihoon has always been good at making serious things seem casual when he wants to. 

Hansol blinks quickly and then turns to Jihoon, smiling. “Not much, hyung. What about you? Soonyoung hyung, are you okay? You passed out.” 

“You saw?” Soonyoung asks, to which Hansol nods. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” He waves the younger’s worry off. 

“Okay.” Hansol drops the subject hesitantly, knowing enough about Soonyoung to know when he doesn’t want to talk about something. Soonyoung sends him one of his signature smiles and Hansol relaxes a little bit. 

“Do you know where Seungcheol hyung is?” Jihoon asks. Hansol shakes his head. 

“I think he’s with Jeonghan hyung, but I don’t know where either of them are. Why? We still haven’t found the kitchen.” Hansol tilts his head. 

“Just had a question we wanted to ask him.” Jihoon replies. “Do we at least know where Seungkwan, Chan, and Seokmin are?” Hansol shrugs, and Jihoon sighs quietly so Hansol can’t hear it.

“Okay then. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself, Hansollie. You look like you’re about to collapse.” Jihoon ruffles Hansol’s hair, and the younger weakly smiles at them. 

“I’ll try my best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Another update after only a week? It's almost like how i used to update lol. But on the real, I haven't gotten a lot of inspiration recently, so it might be another while until I can get the next chapter out. Happy New Years everybody, and thanks for the support! Please continue to keep reading through the new year!


	24. 24. Hansol

Hansol pokes his head around the corner just in time to see Mingyu and Jisoo bring Soonyoung into his room.  _ What happened?  _ Hansol wonders as the two shut the door. He wants to open the door and peek inside to check on his hyung, but he feels like if he does, he’ll be intruding on something. Walking up to the room, Hansol presses his ear against the cool wood of the door and tries to listen for anything on Soonyoung’s condition. Unfortunately, Jisoo and Mingyu are dead silent, so Hansol decides to just leave them alone. 

_ Seungkwan’s been gone for a while,  _ Hansol thinks to himself, walking down the hallway back to his own room.  _ I wonder what’s taking them so long. I’m kind of hungry honestly. Where’s Jeonghan hyung? No, more like where’s someone who can cook well.  _ Hansol then hears the pitter-patter of fast approaching steps coming down the next hallway. 

“Hansol!” Jun bursts out from the doorway, and although Hansol loves Jun, he was kind of hoping that it was Seungkwan coming back. 

“Yeah? What’s up, hyung?” Hansol asks. 

“Have you seen Wonwoo?” Jun leans against the wall. “I’ve been trying to find him all morning, but I seem to keep missing him.” 

“Can’t say that I have. Sorry.” Hansol replies. 

“Don’t worry about it. It can wait anyway.” Jun sighs and stands back up straight. “Thanks, Hansol.” Jun then waves over his shoulder as he turns to leave. Minghao, who had been waiting around the corner, gives Hansol a friendly smile before elbowing Jun. 

“You probably scared the shit out of him, barrelling down the hallway like that. It’s just a hoodie; did you have to be so extra about it?” Minghao laughs. 

“Well, it’s been a while since I lent it to him, so I just wanted it back. It was one of my good ones too.” Jun smiles back at Minghao and Hansol watches the interaction with a small feeling of melancholy spreading throughout his chest. When was the last time that he had been able to joke around like that with Seungkwan? When was the last time that Seungkwan hadn’t treated him like a stranger when they were one-on-one? At the start, Hansol had wanted Seungkwan to reciprocate his feelings, but now Hansol just wants the connection they had before again.

Hansol shakes the sadness away, reminding himself that he should probably make more of an effort if he wants his best friend back. What’s the point in sitting around, feeling sorry for himself when there are things that Hansol himself could do to improve his situation. If he just waits for things to change, then nothing will. Seungcheol had taught him to take control of his own life and to stop thinking that someone else will fix everything, and Seungcheol is the best role model that Hansol has, even though he doesn’t really have a lot of other people to compare Seungcheol with.

From his spot that’s basically hidden behind a plant, Hansol sees Jihoon return from wherever he was and enter his room. A few moments later, Jisoo and Mingyu come out, communicating with each other only by their eyes.  _ Crazy how that works,  _ Hansol thinks as they continue walking to Mingyu’s room in complete silence.  _ They’ve been vibing with each other really well lately. What happened to Wonwoo and Jeonghan? _ And Hansol chuckles to himself because he remembers how much Mingyu had tried to ruin Wonwoo a week or so ago. 

A laugh comes from another hallway that Hansol instantly connects with Chan. Chan’s innocent, childlike smile instantly pops up in Hansol’s mind, and he thinks that he’d probably give his life if Chan could smile like that forever. 

Chan, Seokmin, and Seungkwan round the corner, and Seungkwan’s smile dims so slightly that Hansol is probably the only one in this world that could tell. But he has spent decades studying that face. Hansol knows every little detail about it. 

Contrary to Seungkwan’s disappointing reaction to Hansol, Seokmin instantly throws himself around Hansol in an enormous hug. “Hi, Hansol! We found the kitchen! Let’s gather all the members!” 

“I don’t know where Wonwoo hyung is though. I also don’t really want to bother Jeonghan hyung and Seungcheol hyung right now.” Hansol scratches his head as Seokmin unlatches himself from the younger. 

“Aw, okay. We’ll wait a little bit. You two are okay with that, right?” Seokmin turns to Chan and Seungkwan. Chan smiles his big bright gummy smile and Seungkwan just shrugs. 

“Alright, that's that then. We'll meet up later when Jeonghan hung decides to wake up and then we'll show you guys to the kitchen.” Seokmin claps his hands together and the group separates, Chan tagging along with Seokmin to his room while Seungkwan and Hansol head for their own.

Hansol had almost gotten used to Seungkwan’s silence, so hearing the other being talkative now is a big shock to him. “Do you know what happened to Jihoon hyung? He came running to us and said to not go into this one room.”

“I don’t actually know, but it might have something to do with Soonyoung hyung coming back unconscious.” Hansol replies. 

“What? There are dangerous rooms in here? I thought you’ve been here before?” Seungkwan’s voice has a tone of suspicion that Hansol hates. It’s not his fault. He didn’t know. When Seungcheol had asked if anyone knew any other places they could stay, Hansol was the only person who had offered his knowledge. Seungkwan doesn’t have the right to be mad at him. 

“I didn’t know. I don’t have the time to do an intense search of this entire place. At least I gave us somewhere to stay. Would you rather have stayed in that flooded house?” Hansol bites out and instantly regrets it when Seungkwan’s face falls to a completely neutral state.

“No. I’m sorry.” Seungkwan says as he turns away, and Hansol breathes a silent sigh.

Their room isn’t far. As soon as they get in, Seungkwan doesn’t waste any time launching himself into his bed and pulling out his phone. Hansol takes a slower approach to his own, but also turns on his phone and lays down. 

Maybe an hour or so passes before Hansol, out of the corner of his eye, sees Seungkwan put down his phone and close his eyes. It’s been a while since Seungkwan has fallen asleep while Hansol is  awake. The sight triggers something in Hansol’s tired mind. It’s the same exact thing that Hansol is seeing right now, except in the vision, it’s night and in their old house. Seungkwan’s sleeping then looks more stressed, the other having sweat beginning to build on his forehead. 

_ What was that?  _ Hansol thinks as another feeling makes his melancholy bite the dust. Unease.  _ Something isn’t right here,  _ Hansol sits up, shutting his phone off and taking a deep breath. As if he expects it to glitch, Hansol pushes the wall, and for a small second, he gets another vision, but this time of himself. “What the hell is going on…” A third person view of himself, from a different point in time, in a different place. Moreover, what in the world was that godlike presence that Hansol could feel, even though it was just a vision?

_ Jeonghan and Seungcheol always have the answers.  _ Hansol scrambles to his feet and heads out for the room of the eldest two. If anyone could tell him what these visions are, it’s those two. 

At least, they’d be able to tell Hansol if they were in their room. But no one is there when Hansol arrives, and he’s left to wonder where they could be. There’s not a lot of places that they could be, and even if they left the room, Hansol would’ve been able to see them, considering their room is right across from his and Seungkwan’s. 

“What…” Hansol mumbles to himself as panic bubbles over his unease. “Where could they go…” He turns back around to the door and a rush of adrenaline pumps through his veins. Pain, pain, and more pain comes flooding into his head. Knees buckling, Hansol desperately tries to catch his breath. 

Finally, the pain fades, and the only thing left in Hansol’s mind is a black void with two doors, and although they’re not visible, he can feel the remnants of a soul floating around and godlike anger. 

“What the hell…” Bubbling thoughts and theories start rising in Hansol’s head, and he immediately recognizes the fear of the unknown that had caused so many anxiety attacks when he was younger.  _ Deep breath. Deep breath. In. Out. Don’t panic. You’ll be okay. You’re overthinking things,  _ Hansol tells himself, because he probably is. It’s just his imagination running wild again. The first thing he needs to do, according to Seungcheol, is to figure out what caused it. What triggered it? The next step is to understand why that event made him start thinking more than usual. In his case, it usually helps to talk to himself rather than being silent. 

“Deja vu from a seemingly different reality made me start thinking. It’s panicking me because I saw myself from a point of view that I shouldn’t be able to see myself from. How do I fix it?” Hansol  keeps telling himself to stop thinking, to take a deep breath, but it’s not working. No matter what techniques he uses, his breathing remains heavy and his head continues hammering. 

Hansol leaves the room in hopes that the cause is just the empty atmosphere. Then he sees Soonyoung and Jihoon enter the room of the eldest three, and just like him, they don’t find them and come out. Jihoon’s eyes are slightly frantic.  _ Is Soonyoung hyung okay? What’s up with Jihoon hyung? _

“Hey, Hansol. What’s up?” Jihoon asks, his eyes calming just a little bit.

Hansol smiles at Jihoon, trying to erase all signs that he had just had a mild panic attack. “Not much, hyung. What about you? Soonyoung hyung, are you okay? You passed out.” 

“You saw? I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Soonyoung gives Hansol a wave to calm the younger.

“Okay.” Although he does want to know what exactly happened, Hansol knows Soonyoung’s cues for when he’s deflecting. Soonyoung just sends Hansol his usual bright smile. 

“Do you know where Seungcheol hyung is?” Hansol shakes his head. 

“I think he’s with Jeonghan hyung, but I don’t know where either of them are. Why? We still haven’t found the kitchen.” Hansol tilts his head. 

“Just had a question we wanted to ask him.” Jihoon replies. “Do we at least know where Seungkwan, Chan, and Seokmin are?” Hansol shrugs. Although Jihoon tries hard to hide his sigh, Hansol can see the older’s mouth move in a way that Hansol is extremely used to.

“Okay then. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself, Hansollie. You look like you’re about to collapse.” Jihoon reaches up to ruffle his hair and Hansol does his best to smile at them. 

“I’ll try my best.”

Hansol then leaves the two, deciding to go back to his own room since he has nowhere left to go. Although the conversation with Jihoon and Soonyoung had managed to divert his attention for a little bit, Hansol’s head is still pounding. A nap never hurt anyone, right? It seems like it would do him some good right now, so he collapses on his bed, not caring that Seungkwan has vanished. 

For a void, something about it seems incredibly warm as Hansol sinks in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowowowow I have no motivation for this book. I've been stuck on Seokmin's chapter for the past two weeks, so if I can't finish it, I wonder if I should just post the summary of this... this isn't even the type of story I usually write... the vibes are off...
> 
> Sorry for disappointing you all and thanks for all the support this far. Don't worry, I won't leave you all hanging if I decide to stop writing! I'll still tell you what's supposed to happen!


	25. Forgive me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've disappointed people yet again...

I was thinking about this for a long time. My motivation to write this story is lower than my grades... I can't figure out how to write this, so I'll give you guys the gist of it and hope that it makes up for my laziness. 

Seokmin finds out that Wonwoo is behind this, and falls into a depression and goes to Level 5. Minghao and Jun go to Level 4. Seungkwan goes to Level 3. In Level 2 there are Mingyu, Chan, Soonyoung, Seungcheol, Joshua, and Jihoon. Seungcheol keeps a close eye on Chan.

As Seungcheol recollects how he was saved from going to Level 5, he tells Mingyu and Joshua that the wallflowers are the key to waking everyone up. Then, Wonwoo erases the leaders’ memories again. Seungcheol goes missing, and without his elder to keep an eye on him, Chan falls into Level 4. Soonyoung and Jihoon desperately try to wake everyone up, but without the knowledge of the wallflowers, it’s impossible to bring them back. Fortunately, Mingyu and Joshua still remember what Seungcheol told them and go on a hunt to find the wallflowers and wake up the members. 

Mingyu and Joshua go to find the wallflowers. They find them, and use them to bring everyone back to dream Level 1. However, Jeonghan has descended so far down into Level 6 that it’s near impossible to bring him back. Wonwoo finally agrees to bring the members out. Wonwoo figures out that he doesn’t have enough power to open an exit and bring Jeonghan back, so he uses every single bit of it, causes an amount of mental damage that almost kills him. Mingyu finally comes to terms with his still-lingering feelings for Wonwoo and forgives him.

Again, I'm so sorry for this. I never meant to lead you guys on and think that I would actually finish this story. I've been working on two others that I have infinitely more ideas for: One Seventeen and one NCT (Klare Leu). I'll make sure to finish those, since they're more of my cup of tea. I can't write stuff like this^^;

Thank you so much for everything. It's been a long and wild ride up til now, but I have always appreciated everything that you (the readers) have done for me. Even if you don't end up reading anything else by me, I hope you know that you are incredibly important to me.


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